Lebanese man raped mentally disabled 15-year-old girl: police

A Lebanese man has been charged by South Lebanon Township police with six counts related to the rape of a mentally disabled 15-year-old girl last year, police said.

David Vazquez, 37, is charged with, among other things, statutory sexual assault, rape of a mentally disabled person, sexual assault and corruption of minors.

According to the complaint, on October 17, 2023, a woman approached South Lebanon Township police and stated that her 15-year-old daughter had been raped by Vazquez. The complaint states that the girl suffers from developmental delay, mild intellectual disability, speech delay and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The woman had been friends with Vazquez for about four years before the incident, but the two had a falling out and blocked each other online. The woman told her daughter not to contact Vazquez; However, police said that Vazquez communicated with the girl using a PlayStation console.

The woman told police she noticed her daughter sneaking out of the house between 12:30 and 2:30 a.m. on October 16, and the next day the girl told her mother what happened.

The girl told police that Vazquez took her behind an electrical box between sheds and initiated sexual contact, and that she never gave him permission or asked Vazquez to do what he did, according to the complaint. According to the complaint, the 15-year-old remained silent because she knew he was stronger than her.

Vazquez told the girl to sneak out of the house and meet him or he would beat her with a belt, the girl later told a SAFE spokesperson in a Childline report.

State police conducted DNA tests on the girl and Vazquez. The complaint says his DNA was found in the underwear the girl was wearing when she claimed she was raped.

Police obtained a warrant and arrested Vazquez, and he was charged on Saturday.

Vazquez remains in the Lebanon County Jail after being unable to post $250,000 bail.