Hastings man accused sexual battery against teen

Historic City News was informed by St Johns County Sheriff’s spokesman, Kevin Kelshaw, that on Saturday October 12 at about 6:39 p.m., deputies responded to a reported sexual battery of a teenage girl that was said to have occurred inside his apartment.

Freddy Velazquez, a 41-year-old Hispanic man who resides at 309 Richardson Place Apartment 307 in Hastings, is accused of committing sexual battery against the teen girl by penetrating her vagina with his fingers; he is also said to have licked her breasts and licked her nipples.

“Velazquez used force to commit sexual battery against his victim by punching her in the stomach, grabbing her around the neck, and threatening to shoot her and her family,” Kelshaw revealed from the arrest report. “Sexual assault with a weapon or force and sexual battery of a victim at least 12-years-old is a life felony.”

The incident began when Velazquez contacted the victim’s home and spoke with the victim’s mother on the telephone. Velazquez reportedly asked her to send the victim to his apartment because he “had a surprise” for them.

According to a witness at the apartment, when the victim arrived, Velazquez made him sit on the couch while he took her into a back room — the last door on the left of the hallway.

The witness says that, after a few minutes, Velazquez came out of the back room and told him to go to the back to retrieve his snake book. When the witness returned, he says Velazquez met him at the front door, told him to go to the playground, and to wait there until Velazquez called him back to the apartment. The witness says Velazquez offered him $50 not to tell what had happened. A short time later the witness observed the victim leaving the apartment, with tears in her eyes.

When the victim arrived at her home, her mother could see that she was upset, but wouldn’t explain why. According to the mother, the victim said, “Mom, I can’t tell you because he is going to take his gun and shoot all of us if I tell you, or anyone.”

The victim eventually told her mother that Velazquez took her into his bedroom. She explained how he took off her clothes and punched her in the stomach. According to the teen, he hit her in the back of the head and grabbed her by the neck; then, Velazquez penetrated her vagina with his fingers, licked her breasts and sucked her nipples, she said.

The victim described yelling for her mother — until Velazquez told her to shut up, or he would harm her further.

The victim’s mother went to Velazquez’s apartment to confront him. She reported that when she arrived, Velazquez told her that her daughter was not in Velazquez’s apartment, but the witness was still there. The mother told Velazquez that her daughter told her that he had sexually molested her, but Velazquez denied everything.

When deputies arrived on scene, Velazquez was observed getting into a friend’s car and lying down on the seat. The vehicle was stopped and Velazquez was detained, and then he was transported to the Sheriff’s Office for questioning. Velazquez stated that he observed officers in the apartment complex, and so he asked his friend to take him to Subway where his wife worked. He went on to explain that he laid down in the seat of the car because he was tired.

Velazquez version of events changed as he was presented with photographs of the victim’s injuries and statements from the witness, victim, and her mother. Based on the evidence and statements made during the video-taped interview, Velazquez was arrested.

Velazquez remains in custody at the St Johns County Detention Facility in the Neil J Perry Criminal Justice Complex in lieu of $50,000 bond. Kelshaw informed Historic City News that, although an arrest has already been made in this case, the investigation is ongoing.