Suspect arrested in child abduction
By Dolly A. Butz Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, December 28, 2007
SIOUX CITY -- Police arrested a Sioux City man Thursday evening in connection with the alleged abduction and sexual assault of a 7-year-old girl Saturday.
Armando Orozco, 23, is charged with second-degree sexual abuse, a class B felony with maximum penalties of 25 years in prison. Additional charges may be brought, according to the Sioux City Police Department.
Orozco, who lives at 901 Virginia St., where the assault allegedly took place, was arrested about 6 p.m. at John Morrell & Co. in Sioux City, where he works, police said.
Orozco was being held Thursday night in the Woodbury County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bond.
Police searched an apartment at the Virginia Street address Wednesday and said Thursday morning that they were actively investigating a "person of interest" in the case and following up on other leads.
"We are being very careful to make sure that this case has a positive resolution, and by that I mean an arrest." Sioux City Police Sgt. Rex Mueller said.
He said he could not say whether Orozco has a criminal record.
"We still see this as an ongoing investigation," Mueller said Thursday night. "We look upon it as a very serious incident."
Mueller said earlier that physical evidence was collected from the apartment, the victim and the suspect and was to be sent to the state crime laboratory for forensic analysis.
At approximately 3 p.m. Saturday officers were dispatched to a hospital after the family of the 7-year-old girl reported that a man forcibly removed her from Mid-City Park, which is bounded by Eighth, Ninth, Court and Jennings streets. The girl said she was taken to a home near the park and sexually assaulted, Mueller said.
After an undisclosed amount of time, the girl was allowed to leave the home, Mueller said.
He urged parents to be on guard against potential sexual predators.
"... Pedophiles and child sex offenders have a high recidivism rate, so somebody with that sort of compulsion and that ability to look at a child as a sexual object is clearly very dangerous when it comes to the public," Mueller said.
From Dec. 1, 2004, through Nov. 30, 2007, the Sioux City Police Department received 141 reports of forcible rape. Of those, 51 involved alleged victims under the age of 18, including four in which the alleged victim was younger than 9.
Amy Scarmon, an interviewer for Mercy Child Advocacy Center, said children who are victims of sexual assault generally know the perpetrator.
"It's not usually a stranger," she said. "Usually it is someone that the child knows and trusts."
Mercy Child Advocacy Center works with law enforcement and the state Department of Human Services in investigating reports of abuse. The advocacy center conducts interviews and physical examinations of the alleged victims and offers counseling.
To protect their child from sexual abuse, Scarmon said, parents should always watch their child and have open conversations about what type of physical contact is appropriate and inappropriate.
"I think the most important thing is to talk to your child about the fact that it's not OK for anybody to do touches to any private part on their body, whether it's someone they know of don't know, unless it's a doctor or the parents need to help them with something, " she said. "To let them know even if it is a person that they know, trust and love that it isn't necessarily OK for them to do those kinds of things to them."
If you believe your child has been sexually assaulted, Scarmon said, you should contact law enforcement or DHS immediately.
Journal staff writer Travis Coleman contributed to this report.
Armando Orozco, 23, is charged with second-degree sexual abuse, a class B felony with maximum penalties of 25 years in prison. Additional charges may be brought, according to the Sioux City Police Department.
Orozco, who lives at 901 Virginia St., where the assault allegedly took place, was arrested about 6 p.m. at John Morrell & Co. in Sioux City, where he works, police said.
Orozco was being held Thursday night in the Woodbury County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bond.
Police searched an apartment at the Virginia Street address Wednesday and said Thursday morning that they were actively investigating a "person of interest" in the case and following up on other leads.
"We are being very careful to make sure that this case has a positive resolution, and by that I mean an arrest." Sioux City Police Sgt. Rex Mueller said.
He said he could not say whether Orozco has a criminal record.
"We still see this as an ongoing investigation," Mueller said Thursday night. "We look upon it as a very serious incident."
Mueller said earlier that physical evidence was collected from the apartment, the victim and the suspect and was to be sent to the state crime laboratory for forensic analysis.
At approximately 3 p.m. Saturday officers were dispatched to a hospital after the family of the 7-year-old girl reported that a man forcibly removed her from Mid-City Park, which is bounded by Eighth, Ninth, Court and Jennings streets. The girl said she was taken to a home near the park and sexually assaulted, Mueller said.
After an undisclosed amount of time, the girl was allowed to leave the home, Mueller said.
He urged parents to be on guard against potential sexual predators.
"... Pedophiles and child sex offenders have a high recidivism rate, so somebody with that sort of compulsion and that ability to look at a child as a sexual object is clearly very dangerous when it comes to the public," Mueller said.
From Dec. 1, 2004, through Nov. 30, 2007, the Sioux City Police Department received 141 reports of forcible rape. Of those, 51 involved alleged victims under the age of 18, including four in which the alleged victim was younger than 9.
Amy Scarmon, an interviewer for Mercy Child Advocacy Center, said children who are victims of sexual assault generally know the perpetrator.
"It's not usually a stranger," she said. "Usually it is someone that the child knows and trusts."
Mercy Child Advocacy Center works with law enforcement and the state Department of Human Services in investigating reports of abuse. The advocacy center conducts interviews and physical examinations of the alleged victims and offers counseling.
To protect their child from sexual abuse, Scarmon said, parents should always watch their child and have open conversations about what type of physical contact is appropriate and inappropriate.
"I think the most important thing is to talk to your child about the fact that it's not OK for anybody to do touches to any private part on their body, whether it's someone they know of don't know, unless it's a doctor or the parents need to help them with something, " she said. "To let them know even if it is a person that they know, trust and love that it isn't necessarily OK for them to do those kinds of things to them."
If you believe your child has been sexually assaulted, Scarmon said, you should contact law enforcement or DHS immediately.
Journal staff writer Travis Coleman contributed to this report.
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