By SARAH PARKER | County Line Editor
A bench warrant was issued Tuesday for a Norwalk man facing a felony charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child after he failed to appear in Monroe County Circuit Court.
Felix Miguel-Cuevas, 35, is accused having sexual contact with a Norwalk 13-year-old girl on or between Aug. 1 and Aug. 25, 2021, according to incident reports prepared by Norwalk officer David Jones.
During an interview with a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputy, the alleged victim said she had been spending the night at a 14-year-old girl’s house when that girl’s mother’s boyfriend, Miguel-Cuevas, began touching her.
The door had been removed from the friend’s bedroom, so the girls had decided to watch TV in the living room. The victim had fallen asleep on the living room couch when she woke up to flashlight in her face, according to the interview. She then had looked down, said “What the hell?” and covered herself up. She had been wearing a pink tank top with a white sweater and skinny jeans. The blanket had been covering her when she fell back asleep, she said.
When she had awoken again, the blanket had been covering only her bottom half, according to the interview. Miguel-Cuevas had his hand on her chest, she said, adding that her shirt had been lower cut and that his hand had been touching skin. His hand had been moving around, she said.
After she had covered up, Miguel-Cuevas’ girlfriend came into the room and said, “What are you doing?” according to the victim. He responded, “I had no idea who that was,” a record of the interview states.
According to the interview, Miguel-Cuevas said he had been confused by who was in the living room, came into the room, and dropped his phone on the girl’s chest. The victim noted during the interview that the bone on her chest causes pain if something is dropped on it.
After that conversation, Miguel-Cuevas went to sleep, according to the interview.
Police also ascertained that Miguel-Cuevas allegedly would enter his girlfriend’s daughter’s bedroom, watch her sleep, and lift her blanket when her mother was not around. Because the room gets warm in the summer, the girl does not wear pants at night, according to the report. The girl’s sisters reportedly talked to Miguel Cuevas, who allegedly said “he had not done it with bad intentions.”
The 14-year-old alleged victim said her mother hadn’t believed her in the beginning, but had since changed her mind and put a lock on the inside of her bedroom door.
When police interviewed the mother and sister of the 14-year-old victim, the latter said that the girl’s door had been removed because she had been punished for cell phone use and allegedly sending sexual messages to boys on Snapchat. The sister also said she did not approve of Miguel-Cuervas remaining in the house, though the mother added that they were waiting for a house for Miguel-Cuevas to move into. When police asked again why Miguel-Cuevas remained in the house, the mother said, “I don’t know.”
Miguel-Cuevas declined to be interviewed by police.
If convicted, Miguel-Cuevas may be fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned for not more than 40 years, or both.
