Polk County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested a 24-year-old man in a Mulberry sexual battery and burglary that left a 77-year-old woman beaten and choked in her own home, the agency said Monday.
Detectives charged 24-year-old Axel Antonio Espinal Herrera of Honduras with kidnapping, sexual battery by force, burglary with battery and other counts. The Sheriff’s Office said he is in the United States illegally, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on him.
What the victim told deputies
The woman woke at about 4 a.m. Saturday, August 29, after she heard a noise. A man she did not know walked into her bedroom, forcibly removed her clothing and sexually battered her, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He slapped her when she tried to get away.
When the man went into the bathroom, the woman tried to run out the front door. Deputies said he chased her, dragged her back inside and choked her. He then fled, and she called the Sheriff’s Office.
For more on the initial report, see our earlier coverage of the sexual assault of a 77-year-old woman in her Mulberry home.
How detectives found the suspect
Detectives canvassed the neighborhood for witnesses. At one home, they spoke with two residents while a third was in the shower.
When that third man came out, detectives noticed he matched the description the victim gave. They also found clothing inside the home that she had described.
Detectives identified him as Espinal Herrera. He began answering questions, then stopped and refused to say more, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Detectives got a search warrant for swabs and photographs. During that evidence collection, they found multiple scratches on his body that matched the victim’s account, deputies said. They also found he had cocaine.
The victim picked Espinal Herrera out of a photo lineup.
Charges and immigration status
Espinal Herrera went to the Sheriff’s Processing Center, where deputies booked him on these charges:
- Kidnapping (life felony)
- Sexual battery by force (life felony)
- Burglary with battery (life felony)
- Tampering with evidence (second-degree felony)
- Possession of cocaine (second-degree felony)
- Possession of drug paraphernalia (third-degree felony)
- Loitering or prowling (first-degree misdemeanor)
The Sheriff’s Office said the charges reflect a one-degree enhancement because Espinal Herrera is in the country illegally.
Two other men who lived with Espinal Herrera are also from Honduras and in the country illegally, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Deputies took both into custody on ICE holds.
Charges are accusations. Court records did not appear in the Sheriff’s Office release, and it did not say whether Espinal Herrera has an attorney.