NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – North Miami police arrested a 60-year-old man after they said he molested a young girl swimming in an apartment complex pool on Friday.
According to an arrest report, Skender Halili tried to molest the 10-year-old for a second time later that day and a witness saw what happened from under the water.
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Halili is now facing a series of felony and misdemeanor charges, police say.
According to North Miami police, the incidents happened at the pool of the Villa Laguna at SoLé Mia complex, located at 2200 SoLé Mia Square Lane in the city’s Biscayne Landing development.
Arrest reports state that the first incident happened when Halili, an Albanian national who lives at the complex, swam in the community pool at around 11:30 Friday morning.
Police said he would “intentionally” swim in her direction and “grab her by the leg.”
The reports state that the victim told officers she was playing with dive toys at the time and Halili “would intentionally position himself where the toys were at in order to grab her.”
Police said Halili “grabbed the victim by the waist and put her on his lap and grabbed her buttocks over her bathing suit bottoms.”
Later, at around 3 p.m., police said Halili went towards the toys and “intentionally grip(ped) the victim’s leg from underneath in an attempt to touch the victim’s vagina over her bathing suit,” but the girl was able to swim away.
A witness swimming underwater with goggles “was able to see (Halili) grabbing the victim’s leg from underneath in an attempt to grab the victim’s vagina over her clothing,” one of the arrest reports states.
“The witness also stated that he observed the defendant intentionally grab the victim’s buttocks over her bathing suit at this time,” police wrote.
The reports don’t specify who called police, but authorities said Halili was still at the pool when they got to the scene.
During an interview at the North Miami police station, authorities said Halili, through an Albanian interpreter, told police that he “‘might have touched her’ while swimming, but indicated it was accidental if he did,” the reports state.
According to police, Halili originally said he never spoke to the girl, but later said ”he would tell her where the pool toys she was playing with were at and would be swimming over them at the time.”
The reports state that surveillance cameras captured “multiple interactions” between the two but said the touching occurred underwater and was not “specifically visible.”
Police additionally said that the night prior, the girl reported that Halili “pushed” her by the leg while swimming, but believed that to be the only unintentional incident of the three.
Police arrested Halili on felony charges of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under 12 and attempted lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under 12, as well as two misdemeanor battery charges.
As of Monday morning, he was being held without bond in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, jail records show.