An Apopka man was arrested after allegedly giving an underage girl beers and touching her genitals.
A deputy responded to a sexual battery complaint involving 22-year-old Preston Nascimento around 10:50 p.m. Saturday, May 2, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The female juvenile victim explained that she had known Nascimento for years. He would jokingly refer to her as his wife and playfully flirt with her, which she initially did not think much of, the report said.
The night before, she, her best friend and Nascimento were watching Surf’s Up together. He repeatedly handed the juvenile victim his halfway-full Corona beers to finish and asked her to get him new ones. He started giving her the beers around 11 p.m., and she took a photo with one of them, the report said.
The friend went to bed around midnight because the girls had a volleyball game scheduled for the morning. Nascimento then asked the juvenile victim if she wanted to watch Chasing Maverick with him in the living room, and she agreed. He continued getting her more beers and kept leaning closer to her, the report said.
At one point, he asked to see the henna on her back that mimicked a spine tattoo. She showed him, and he asked to draw over it. He made her sit between his legs to do so. She then moved away, but he lay on her lap, the report said.
They repositioned again, and Nascimento told her to get closer and pulled her in so she was lying on his stomach. He proceeded to touch her back, went into her waistband and touched her buttocks under her clothes. He next told her to reposition herself so they were lying next to each other, the report said.
He subsequently slipped his hand back into her pants and digitally penetrated her vagina while kissing her. Her told her she could say “no,” but he pulled her back when she went to get up. The friend then came out of her room, which gave the juvenile victim an excuse to leave, the report said.
Nascimento told her to turn off the movie so they could have sex, which she refused to do. He begged her for 10 to 20 more minutes, saying they did not need to have sex and could continue what they were doing. When she mentioned her friend, he stated they had already made it that far, and she would never know, the report said.
The juvenile victim again told him “no” and tried to pull away from him, only for him to pull her back and make her kiss him. She finally got away, ran into a room, locked the door and told her friend what happened. She was sobbing at the time, which may have woken up another person in the home, the report said.
This person came in and asked what happened. When told, she stated the juvenile victim should have slapped Nascimento and that he was drunk. They would not send him home because he it would be unsafe to allow him to drink and drive. The juvenile victim ultimately went to bed and was taken home later in the morning because she did not want to leave the room if Nascimento was still in the home, the report said.
The juvenile victim showed law enforcement a photo of herself sitting in Nascimento’s lap while he drew on her back, as well as the photos of the beers he gave her. Based on the timestamps, the incident began around 1:49 a.m. Saturday. May 2. She told her friend about the incident at 3:08 a.m., the report said.
The house was full of people that night, a few of whom mentioned the juvenile victim having a “crush” on Nascimento and would joke about “marrying” him. One of the occupants asked him about the incident, and he denied touching her. When law enforcement spoke to his mother, she stated the juvenile victim was “obsessed” with him, and he was never alone with her, the report said.
After several attempts to meet with Nascimento, a deputy called him on Sunday, May 3. He agreed to drive to his mother’s house on Ponderosa Drive in Fruitland Park to discuss the allegation. He began by describing the juvenile victim as being highly obsessed with him over the years. He stated his ex-girlfriends had previously told her to stop taking pictures of him, including photos of him shirtless and getting out of the shower.
In his version of events, they were watching a movie when the juvenile victim tried to kiss him. He pushed her off and told her she was a minor, which upset her. He then left the room and lay on the couch while she went to her friend’s room, the report said.
Nascimento initially denied that the juvenile victim had been drinking alcohol. But when confronted about the pictures, he stated she could have gotten the beers from the fridge after he went to sleep. When asked about the henna, he advised that she wanted a picture, the report said.
The deputy again asked about the physical contact, and Nascimento stated that the juvenile victim came onto him. They were lying on the couch watching a movie, not touching each other, when she suddenly grabbed his face and kissed him. He felt uncomfortable because of her age, the report said.
The deputy pressed further, questioning if he volunteered his hand or if she grabbed it, the report said. He claimed that she put his hand on her buttocks, then her thigh. He denied putting his hand on her vagina before saying she forced him to, “Do this, do that.”
He also denied there being any penetration, even the deputy hadn’t asked at the point. He modified his statement to say his finger was close to her vaginal area, but it did not go inside. He maintained that she forced his hand, and he immediately stopped and told her no, the report said.
The deputy later contacted the Children’s Advocacy Center. They advised that, due to the incident being only digital penetration, they would not be responding. They would wait until the Department of Children and Families contacted them to schedule a screening later on, even though the juvenile victim had not showered since the incident, the report said.
Nascimento was arrested on charge of lewd and lascivious molestation (victim older than 12 but younger than 16) and contributing to delinquency of a minor. He was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $6,000 bond.