A 21-year-old Caledonia man was arrested Monday after he allegedly had sex with a 16-year-old girl, according to Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins.
Anthony Martinez is charged with sexual battery, Hawkins said.
The victim and her family contacted law enforcement, Hawkins said. She was taken to Sally Kate Winters Family Services in West Point and interviewed by a forensic interviewer there.
“Anytime we have a sexual assault victim who is under age we do a forensic interview (at Sally Kate Winters),” Hawkins said. “A lot of times they are more open to talking to them than they are to us. The interviewers are experts at building rapport and trust.”
Investigators determined that a crime had been committed and contacted Martinez, who turned himself in without incident, Hawkins said.
While being interviewed, he admitted to having sex with the victim but claimed it was consensual.
Although 16 is the age of consent in Mississippi, the victim said it was “forced on her,” Hawkins said.
“No means no,” Hawkins said.
Martinez and the victim knew each other, but were not dating or in a relationship, Hawkins said.
Investigators got a search warrant to collect DNA from Martinez, Hawkins said. His DNA swabs and evidence collected from the victim have been sent off for testing.
Bond was set at $50,000. Martinez was still being held at the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center as of press time.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.