Crime

‘I should’ve asked for a lawyer’: How Broward cops made arrest in sex assault of girl

A Broward man admitted to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl, police say. 
A Broward man admitted to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl, police say.  File Photo

A Broward man is facing a slew of charges after admitting to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl, police say.

On Wednesday, Pembroke Park police got a call from a nearby hospital about a girl who came in reporting a sexual battery. The following day, officers showed up to an apartment in the 3700 block of Southwest 52nd Avenue to meet with 37-year-old Nivenson Sarazin.

Jail records indicate Sarazin faces more than 20 charges, including sexual assault of a person under 12, battery of a child and possession of child sexual material.

Sarazin agreed to speak with investigators — and admitted to kissing and sexually assaulting the child, a relative of his girlfriend, according to police. He providing intimate details about the encounters, also stating that the girl told him “no,” asked him to stop and urged him not to “do it.”

The confession came after officers duped him into believing that the girl secretly recorded video of him engaged in sexual activity with a cellphone that she stole from school, according to an arrest report.

While questioned, Sarazin told investigators he knew it was “not normal to touch a minor” but said he “loses control,” the report states. He said he couldn’t recall how many times the sexual abuse occurred.

The girl told police she was sexually assaulted more than five times, according to the report. She also said Sarazin forced her to take inappropriate photos on his cellphone, which police later seized.

As police peppered him with questions, Sarazin paused, taking awhile to respond because he was “thinking of the decisions I’ve made,” the report says.

Before refusing to answer any more questions, he said: “I should’ve just asked for a lawyer.”

Grethel Aguila
Miami Herald
Grethel covers courts and the criminal justice system for the Miami Herald. She graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!), speaks Spanish and Arabic and loves animals, traveling, basketball and good storytelling. Grethel also attends law school part time.
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