FAST FACTS:
(Memphis 8/18/2009) A 31-year-old man faces child rape charges after a family friend discovered nude pictures of a little girl on his cell phone.
Police identified the suspect as Pablo Mateo.
The family friend who turned him in tells WREG the 5-year-old girl had actually tried to tell them before Mateo was abusing her, but apparently no one believed her. She says it wasn't until the cell pictures surfaced they realized the child was telling the truth.
The family friend asked we not identify her, but says she found two graphic photos of the girl on Mateo's phone.
"The pictures are of sexual nature but they're not of sex acts," said Lt. Wilton Cleveland of the Memphis Police Department's Sex Crimes Unit.
Investigators say the photos were taken inside the family friend's East Memphis home. She says she had allowed Mateo and his wife to move in there because they had nowhere else to go.
Court papers state investigators interviewed the child who told them she'd been penetrated by the suspect. It's unclear how long the alleged abuse had been going on but the little girl says the most recent incident happened just 11 days ago.
"When we took her to the hospital, that's when we knew it was true," said the family friend.
She admits there were warning signs, signs she wished she'd paid closer attention to. She says the alleged victim even talked about the suspect touching her.
"But we just thought it was a story she was telling," she said.
The little girl who was about to start kindergarten is now in state custody.
The child was examined by doctors at Le Bonheur who indeed found she was sexually abused. Meanwhile, Mateo's locked up on a $100,000 bond. He's looking at anywhere between 15-60 years behind bars if convicted.
- Pablo Mateo charged with Rape of a Child
- Police say he took nude photos of 5-year-old girl with his cell phone
- Family friend found pictures and reported him to investigators
(Memphis 8/18/2009) A 31-year-old man faces child rape charges after a family friend discovered nude pictures of a little girl on his cell phone.
Police identified the suspect as Pablo Mateo.
The family friend who turned him in tells WREG the 5-year-old girl had actually tried to tell them before Mateo was abusing her, but apparently no one believed her. She says it wasn't until the cell pictures surfaced they realized the child was telling the truth.
The family friend asked we not identify her, but says she found two graphic photos of the girl on Mateo's phone.
"The pictures are of sexual nature but they're not of sex acts," said Lt. Wilton Cleveland of the Memphis Police Department's Sex Crimes Unit.
Investigators say the photos were taken inside the family friend's East Memphis home. She says she had allowed Mateo and his wife to move in there because they had nowhere else to go.
Court papers state investigators interviewed the child who told them she'd been penetrated by the suspect. It's unclear how long the alleged abuse had been going on but the little girl says the most recent incident happened just 11 days ago.
"When we took her to the hospital, that's when we knew it was true," said the family friend.
She admits there were warning signs, signs she wished she'd paid closer attention to. She says the alleged victim even talked about the suspect touching her.
"But we just thought it was a story she was telling," she said.
The little girl who was about to start kindergarten is now in state custody.
The child was examined by doctors at Le Bonheur who indeed found she was sexually abused. Meanwhile, Mateo's locked up on a $100,000 bond. He's looking at anywhere between 15-60 years behind bars if convicted.
