A 55-year-old man is accused of forcing an 8-year-old girl to touch him inappropriately, according to an arrest report.
Boca Raton police arrested Giuseppe Barrelli Tuesday.
Police said they were alerted about the inappropriate touching in September after an adult called authorities. The adult told police that the girl said Barrelli came into her room, grabbed her hand and forced her to touch him.
Barrelli told police it was all a misunderstanding. He said he went to sleep in the girl’s bed after seeing that she was sleeping in the master bedroom. According to the report, Barrelli said the girl got into bed with him and became curious about his body. He took off his pants and showed himself to her, but told officers it was to educate the child about human anatomy.
He said he never made her touch him, according to the report.
The girl told police a different version of events. She said she was sleeping alone when Barrelli came into her bedroom. She told officers that Barrelli told her the incident was a secret between the two of them.
Barrelli is charged with sexual battery on a person younger than 12. He is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail on $100,000 bail.
kjacobson@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6547 or Twitter @katejacobson
