DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, Fla. — A 23-year-old man was arrested after being accused of sexually battering a 14-year-old girl in a Daytona Beach Shores hotel room Saturday, according to police.
Detectives said Nelson Hernandez-Garcia followed the girl into an elevator at the El Caribe Resort, groped her in the elevator and rode it up to the fourth floor before battering her.
Video surveillance shows Hernandez-Garcia following the girl from the pool area onto the elevator, according to police.
Police said Nelson put his number in the victim's phone before leaving the room. She told her parents, who contacted hotel staff, and a staff member called police, investigators said.
The girl was visiting Daytona Beach Shores while on vacation, officials said.
The victim told police that after she was sexually battered, Nelson called her three times and she sent him a text saying that she was 14 years old and to stop contacting her, officials said.
Investigators said a police detective claiming to be the girl texted Nelson and got him to meet her on the pool deck.
Police said they collected bed sheets, clothes and towels to analyze them for DNA evidence.
Investigators said there is evidence that suggests that Hernandez-Garcia did not force his way into the hotel room, but they would not elaborate, saying that the investigation remains ongoing.
Hernandez-Garcia voluntarily spoke with detectives, officials said, before they placed him under arrest on a sexual battery charge.
Police said Hernandez-Garcia told them he didn't know how old the victim is.
WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said sexual battery is considered a strict liability crime, meaning if a charge can be proven, it doesn't matter whether a suspect knows a victim's age.