McWilliams
A 35-year-old Riviera Beach man remained in jail Monday after his arrest this weekend for allegedly engaging in sexual activity with an underage girl.
Michael McWilliams was arrested Saturday in connection with an investigation that began in late February. He was being held at the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. McWilliams faces charges of sexual activity with a child and lewd and lascivious battery.
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Rivera Beach police say he lured the girl with a text message early on the morning of Feb. 27. An arrest report does not identify the girl or give her age. She reportedly told officers McWilliams asked her to go to a store with him.
He allegedly took the girl to a friend’s home and had sex with her. McWilliams reportedly told the girl he would “die or be in jail for the rest of his life” if he got caught. He threatened that he would attack police officers and force them to shoot him rather than be taken to jail, the report said.
After the sexual encounter, McWilliams and the girl wandered around the area, the police said. A Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted the girl walking in the area of West 34th Street and Avenue R. It was not clear in the report whether McWilliams was still with her at the time.
The girl was recovered and taken for medical evaluation. She was later interviewed and identified McWilliams as the suspect, police said. Last month, officers obtained a warrant to collect DNA from McWilliams. An officer made several attempts to contact McMilliams, but he did not answer calls, police said.
