An Ocala man is behind bars after being charged with having a 5-year-old juvenile perform sex acts on him.
Marion County Sheriff’s Major Crimes detectives arrested 49-year-old Matthew Alvin Hockenberry on Wednesday and transported him to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with three counts of sexual assault on a victim under the age of 12. Detectives said that Hockenberry confessed to the criminal acts and told them they had occurred more than once, a sheriff’s office report states.
The incidents were first reported to the sheriff’s office on Monday after the victim spontaneously told her grandmother, “I have something gross and nasty to tell you.” The little girl then described the sexual acts she claimed Hockenberry had her perform on him in his bed more than one time, the report says, without specifying how or if Hockenberry and the youngster are related.
The girl’s grandmother had her repeat the allegations to her mother and they were then reported to the sheriff’s office.
Hockenberry was brought in for an interview and at first said he and the victim would “rough house” when she was on his bed or when he would wake her up in the morning. But he eventually confirmed the victim’s allegations and said the sex acts had occurred on at least three to four separate occasions within the past month, the report says.
Hockenberry is being held on $45,000 bond and is due in a Marion County courtroom on March 26 at 9 a.m. to answer to the charges.