Man Sexually Assaulted Middle School Student: Bradenton Police

BRADENTON, FL — A Sarasota man is accused of sexually assaulting a Bradenton middle school student on Tuesday, authorities said.

Aldo Manuel Garcia Fernandez, 24, was charged with lewd or lascivious battery of a victim between the ages of 12 and 16 years old, according to a Bradenton Police Department news release.

The mother of the victim, a 14-year-old girl, told investigators that when her daughter didn’t answer her phone that evening, she tracked the device to a nearby parking lot.

There, she found her daughter in Garcia Fernandez’s vehicle. Before he could leave the parking lot, she took photos of him and his license plate, police said.

Investigators learned that the teen met him on a social media app.

Detectives tracked his vehicle to Sarasota County and arrested him with the help of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s office. He is being held at Sarasota County Jail.