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Fort Myers man accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting girl to appear in court

Writer: Carolina Guzman
Published: Updated:
Raymond De Jesus Credit: The Lee County Sheriff’s Office

The Fort Myers man arrested for allegedly kidnapping a young girl and sexually assaulting her at knifepoint is scheduled to appear in court.

According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, 38-year-old Raymond De Jesus kidnapped the victim while she was walking to her bus stop in Tice on Thursday morning.

He then sexually assaulted her at knifepoint at Schandler Hall Park.

After hours of searching for De Jesus, deputies managed to find him hiding in the attic of his home on Prospect Avenue.

In order to get De Jesus out, deputies had to tear gas the house.

“To know that this happened to her; it’s awful she had to endure all that, and she’s just a child,” said Esmeralda Zamora, a neighbor. “She was going to school. You know what I’m saying? To even find this information out, it bothers us really bad.”

De Jesus faces charges of kidnapping and sexual battery with a weapon or force.

This is also not the first time De Jesus has been arrested. He has a history of stalking, child abuse, battery and more since 2020.

De Jesus is set to appear in court at 1 p.m. on Monday for a pretrial detention hearing.

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