PALM COAST, Fla. — A 78-year-old man is in custody after deputies say he assaulting a woman who was setting up an open house.
Carlos Da Silva was charged with burglary of a dwelling with assault and battery and misdemeanor simple battery.
Deputies responded to a residence on Princeton Lane Saturday around 11 a.m. after a woman called 911 and said she had been assaulted.
The victim was in the process of setting up for an open house when Da Silva drove by in a gold SUV and waved at her, passing by several times before stopping in front of the home.
She said she told the man that the open house was not scheduled to start for another 20 minutes, but when she walked inside, he followed her. Police said Da Silva asked real estate questions about the home and told her it was not safe for her to be alone.
After offering a handshake to leave, he pulled her in tightly and began kissing her neck, according to deputies. After struggling to get free and telling him to stop, the man let her go, but took one of her business cards as he left. The victim took photos of the vehicle as he fled and called 911.
Deputies found the SUV and conducted a traffic stop at Wellington Drive. Da Silva initially told deputies he did not stop in the P-Section of Palm Coast Saturday, according to the agency, then he changed his story and said he had stopped there and only briefly spoke to a woman. Deputies said Da Silva admitted to going inside and pulling her in for a hug, but said he promptly left afterward.
The victim positively identified Da Silva as the man who assaulted her, police said. Da Silva was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility where he was being held without bond.
“This creep saw an opportunity to prey on a woman, but I doubt he expected her to bravely fight him off and turn him in,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in a press release. “Because of the victim’s quick thinking and the quick work of our team he found a new home at the Green Roof Inn.”