Florida teen charged with sex assault on Lancaster girl after SLED investigation

A Florida teen has been charged with a sex assault against a Lancaster girl.

Elijah Manuel Vargas, 19, of Deerfield Beach, Fla., was charged Tuesday with second-degree criminal sexual conduct, said Thom Berry, spokesman for the State Law Enforcement Division.

Vargas was charged by South Carolina SLED agents after an investigation that started with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office in November, according to arrest warrant and police reports.

Vargas was booked into the Lancaster County jail after his arrest, said Doug Barfield, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

Vargas is an acquaintance of the family of the victim and had been to the home before, according to a sheriff’s office incident report. The victim who reported the allegations is 12 years old, SLED agents said.

It is unclear how long Vargas had been staying in Lancaster. He was listed with a local address of John Truesdale Road in Lancaster during the investigation, records show.

Police in Lancaster were called in November after the victim stated that Vargas touched her and then touched himself in an attempt to engage in sexual activity while he was visiting a home in Lancaster, according to police reports and arrest warrants.

Vargas is accused of entering a bedroom through a locked door on Nov. 17, arrest warrants state.

SLED agents who specialize in child victim crimes investigated after the victim and her family reported the incident to sheriff’s office deputies, police said.

Vargas had a $40,000 bond set by a judge after he was arrested, according to online court records from Lancaster County.

This story was originally published December 21, 2018 at 8:43 AM.