13-year-old girl was lured from home and sexually assaulted in church, Texas cops say

A 34-year-old man is accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl he lured from her Texas home, authorities say.

The 13-year-old was seeing a school nurse for an unrelated arm injury when “she made an outcry that she had been sexually assaulted,” Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a Thursday, Nov. 9, news briefing.

The investigation led deputies to 34-year-old Lucando Watson Jr., who Salazar said is an acquaintance with someone the girl was dating. Watson was able to get the girl’s phone number and they began texting.

The text messages eventually “took a sexual turn,” as the pair began exchanging videos and photographs, according to the sheriff.

Watson, who is married and has a child near the same age as the victim, convinced the girl to run away from her home and meet him, Salazar said.

He picked up the girl in his vehicle and took her to a church, where he sexually assaulted her, the sheriff said. Watson is accused of sexually assaulting the girl twice in the same night.

Watson sent texts indicating he would like to do it again, and he was arrested Thursday at his home, Salazar said. He was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child.

The sheriff hinted that there could be more victims.

“He was very bold and very cavalier in the way he handled this situation to where I can’t help but think ... there is a distinct possibility that there could be other victims out there,” he said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office at 210-335-6000.

This story was originally published November 10, 2023 at 6:19 AM with the headline "13-year-old girl was lured from home and sexually assaulted in church, Texas cops say."