A Summerfield man was jailed after two victims – one an underage girl – claimed they were attacked over a non-existent kissing issue.
The juvenile victim told Marion County sheriff’s deputies that 23-year-old Wilver Lopez-Hernandez, originally of Guatemala, came home “highly intoxicated” and accused her of kissing the other victim. She said Lopez-Hernandez grabbed her by the hair and slapped her several times, a sheriff’s office report states.
The girl said she ran to her bedroom and Lopez-Hernandez followed her. She said he pushed her onto her bed and struck her multiple times in the face and back with closed fists, the report says, noting that she had slight bruising on her left check and some redness on her left eye.
The second victim, a roommate whose age wasn’t included in the report, said he was in his bedroom when Lopez-Hernandez came in and started hitting him in the face with a closed fist. He said Lopez-Hernandez believed he had been kissing the juvenile female, which wasn’t true, the report says.
An eyewitness said he saw Lopez-Hernandez enter the residence and begin to hit both victims with closed fists. He confirmed that Lopez-Hernandez entered the girl’s bedroom and struck her with closed fists. The eyewitness said he was able to separate everyone but Lopez-Hernandez then grabbed the girl by her hair, threw her onto the floor and started hitting her, the report says.
After being read his rights, Lopez-Hernandez said he was upset because he believed the male victim had been kissing the juvenile female. He said he slapped the girl once “as a form of discipline,” but denied grabbing her by the hair or punching her. He also denied become physical with the other victim, the report says.
Lopez-Hernandez, who lives on S.E. Hwy. 42 in Summerfield, was placed under arrest and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with domestic cruelty toward a child (abuse without great bodily harm) and battery. He was being held on no bond on the child abuse charge and $1,000 bond on the battery charge and his next court date hasn’t yet been set, jail records show.