KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A former school custodian was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious conduct in connection to an incident involving a 12-year-old girl, Kissimmee police said Thursday.
Jose Coello, 56, was arrested after the girl's parents told police that Coello came into their home, uninvited, and acted in an inappropriate manner with the girl, according to police.
According to police, the alleged incident happened at the end of last school year, but the girl just recently told her parents about it.
The girl told police Coello stopped by her home and said he was there to check on her. Coello then came into the home and went into the girl's room, where she said he touched her in an inappropriate manner, police said.
"He knows parents of the child. He had checked on the child once before. At this point he was not supposed to check on the child, (but he) showed up, knocked on the door and got inside," Stacie Miller of the Kissimmee Police Department said.
Police said the girl told them she yelled at Coello to leave the house.
When interviewed by detectives, Coello denied the allegations, police said.
Coello was arrested charged with lewd and lascivious conduct, obtaining access to a home with false pretenses and battery. He was taken to the Osceola County Jail and later released on an $8,000 bond.
Coello was the head custodian at Cypress Elementary School, but is no longer with the Osceola County School District, officials said.
Police said the girl said she wanted to tell her parents about the incident when it happened but Coello asked her not to. She said she decided to come forward out of fear that he would target other girls.
Police said the girl's family knew Coello because one of the parents works for the Osceola County school system.
According to the police report, in November 2004 Coello reportedly told a 16-year-old student at Gateway High School that he cheats on his wife and that he and the student could get married following her graduation. No criminal charges were filed in that incident. The school district said they are waiting to hear from their human resources department before commenting on the 2004 incident.
WFTV
