Police say a 37-year-old man was arrested after he hit a 13-year-old girl in the face, pulled her hair, and dragged her while she was crying.
Officers arrived at the 100 block of Caprona Street, where they met the 13-year-old victim. The girl stated she was in the bathroom when her stepfather, Ryan Wallace Rosewarne, began yelling at her.
When the girl asked Rosewarne to stop, he pulled her hair, and then pushed her to the ground, according to the affidavit.
“[The girl] said Ryan hit her in the face, knocking her glasses off during the altercation,” the officer said. The girl told the officer Rosewarne has not been abusive in the past.
“I observed lacerations underneath her nose and on her left cheek, consistent with the statements she made to law enforcement. There was also blood on the hood and sleeve of the jacket which she was wearing,” the officer said.
When police tried to make contact with Ryan Rosewarne, he kept stating they were trespassing, and the officers did not have a right to be in his house, reports show.
“Rosewarne stated that he never touched her throughout the entirety of their argument. Rosewarne stated they were verbally arguing, and then he slammed the door in [the girl’s] face,” the officer said.
Rosewarne then stated he had a video of the incident to prove he did not touch or strike his stepdaughter. However, Rosewarne quickly became defensive and uncooperative when asked to show law enforcement the video, the affidavit said.
A 6-year-old told officers that he saw his father grab the girl by her hair before she went to the ground. He said his father was saying “bad words” and dragged the girl. The child also witnessed the girl losing her “glasses and crying,” according to the report.
Rosewarne was arrested for Child Abuse and transported to the Indian River County Jail.
On the way to jail, Rosewarne told the officer that his stepdaughter was a “half nig***,” according to the affidavit.
As of Monday afternoon, he is still being held on a $5,000 bond.
DISCLAIMER: Arrests and mugshots were made public by complaint affidavits, arrest affidavits, and police reports. All persons arrested are innocent until proven guilty.
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