An Ocala man with a previous arrest for lewd and lascivious battery stands accused of molesting an 8-year-old girl numerous times over the last year and a half.
David Lee Lewis, 30, was arrested Monday on charges of sexual battery of a victim less than 12 years old and lewd or lascivious conduct by a person 18 years or older. Lewis, whose occupation is listed as a manager at Shannon Foreign Cars, was previously arrested in 2010 in Polk County on several counts of lewd and lascivious battery, according to a Marion County Sheriff’s Office report.
A sheriff’s deputy was notified April 18 by an elementary school resource officer that the victim had disclosed sexual abuse to another student. A Department of Children and Families investigator spoke to the victim, who provided graphic details about the encounters, which she said has occurred more than once in the master bedroom shower, according to the report.
The victim said she told children on the school bus about the incidents and then told Lewis about telling her peers. She said Lewis told her that if he is arrested, she is going to boarding school, according to the report.
The victim’s mother told a sheriff’s detective that Lewis washes the victim in the shower while she is doing chores or making food, and that the victim did not make a disclosure of abuse to her. The mother could provide no reason why the victim would be untruthful and said she doesn’t know why she would accuse Lewis of abusing her, according to the report.
Lewis told the detective that he washes the victim to assist her with poor hygiene that has resulted in rashes in the past. Lewis said he and the victim are both naked in the shower and he doesn’t wear underwear because it is “uncomfortable,” according to the report.
Lewis said he and the victim get along great and if she is not truthful, it’s because she has imagined something. He said the victim is very naïve and has minimal exposure to adult things due to only having one television in the house. Lewis couldn’t provide a reason why the victim would make the statements, according to the report.
Lewis was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was released Wednesday on $40,000 bond. He’ll answer to the charges in Marion County Court on May 28.