OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – An employee of an Osceola County apartment complex was booked into jail Thursday, accused of raping a 70-year-old tenant in her own unit the day prior, according to the sheriff’s office.
In a video posted to Facebook on Monday, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez described what landed 42-year-old Freddy Rodrigo LaFuente in the Osceola County jail, where he now faces charges of sexual battery and molestation of the elderly, records show.
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“This individual works for an apartment complex where our victim lives,” Lopez said. “He goes into the apartment to do some work, small talk, befriends her, at one point he decides to tell her that he loves her, and he’s been in love with her.”
LaFuente worked in maintenance at the complex and had known the victim for about a year before the alleged attack, records show.
Lopez said LaFuente forced himself on top of the woman before throwing her onto a bed, forcing her clothes off and raping her.
“This poor victim. She’s confused, she’s sad, she’s like ‘Stop, please don’t do this to me,’ but he continues to do so,” Lopez said.
When LaFuente left, the woman allegedly locked herself in her bathroom, passed out in fear that he would return and was eventually found unconscious by her granddaughter before coming-to at the hospital, according to a charging affidavit. Records show that when the victim’s granddaughter sought help from maintenance workers to reach her unresponsive grandmother, she said LaFuente was one of the employees who helped her enter the apartment.
While at the hospital, the woman identified LaFuente through photos on his social media accounts, and he was arrested at the apartment complex early the next morning.
“This is a sick man, but guess what, I commend our victim for coming forward. This behavior is wrong,” Lopez said. “She’s brave. She spoke out against him, and now he’s been arrested and booked in the Osceola County jail, where he should be, for his crime.”
Watch Lopez’s video below: