An out-of-state man visiting relatives in Fayetteville for Thanksgiving is reported to have fondled a 14-year-old female family member in a bedroom while she and other children were watching a movie. The man had returned home before the incident was reported to police.
Fayetteville Police spokesman Steve Crawshaw said the incident unfolded as the family and a number of relatives were spending Thanksgiving together at the Fayetteville residence. Later in the evening the children went to a bedroom to watch a movie, Crawshaw said, adding that one of the children was a 14-year-old female who was watching the movie in bed under the covers.
Crawshaw said that a 55-year-old male relative from out of state went into the room at some point and got into the bed and under the covers with the girl. It was then that he began to fondle the girl’s breasts and buttocks, Crawshaw said.
The man left the room when the movie ended, saying he was going to get another movie. It was at that point, Crawshaw said, that the girl got her younger brother to climb into the bed to prevent the relative from getting into the bed when he returned.
Crawshaw said the girl further attempted to dissuade the man upon his return by telling him she was ready to go to sleep.
Crawshaw said the incident was reported two days later by the girl’s mother. By that time the male relative had left the city and returned to his home in another state. Asked why she waited two days to contact police, the woman said she had not wanted to upset the girl’s grandmother, Crawshaw said.
Crawshaw said the case has been turned over to the department’s Criminal Investigations Division.
