MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A man arrested last month, accused of molesting two juveniles in Marion County, faces additional charges after the sheriff’s office says more victims have come forward.
Geraldo Rivera-Serrano, 62, was arrested on Feb. 21 and is being held on no bond. He was originally arrested on charges of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child older than 12 and six counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child younger than 12.
On Tuesday, March 4, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said he faces additional charges of two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child younger than 12, one count of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child older than 12, and one count of lewd or lascivious battery on a child younger than 12.
Two victims on Feb. 6 told investigators that Rivera-Serrano had subjected them to long-term sexual abuse, a release states. They provided detailed accounts of how he would allegedly isolate himself with them, molest them in the guise of tickling or playing games and tell them that he wouldn’t do it to anyone else if they kept the abuse secret, according to the sheriff’s office.
A detective soon learned that Rivera-Serrano was on vacation in Puerto Rico. When he was confronted with the victims’ allegations, the sheriff’s office said Rivera-Serrano “employed methods of victim-blaming to create excuses for the crimes he committed and advised he was returning home early to speak with the victims.” Rivera-Serrano otherwise acknowledged molesting the victims while claiming he never meant to hurt them, the release states.
Rivera-Serrano was detained while pulling into his home along SW 128th Street and refused to speak to the detective without an attorney present, the sheriff’s office said. He was booked overnight into the Marion County Jail while detectives continued investigating other possible incidents of sexual abuse by his hand, according to the release.
“After Rivera-Serrano’s arrest, Detective Osthed continued to investigate another allegation of molestation, to which Rivera-Serrano admitted. He was also contacted by a parent of another juvenile victim who questioned her daughter about possible abuse after hearing that Rivera-Serrano was arrested on sexual abuse charges,” the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office said Osthed the accounts from the two additional victims “accurately aligned with Rivera-Serrano’s pattern of grooming, victim-blaming, and molestation” and “corroborated by the accounts of the first two juvenile victims who came forward.”
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is urged to call Detective Osthed at 352-351-4710.
