- December 25, 2024
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A 48-year-old Palm Coast man has been arrested after allegedly molesting an underage girl, according to an arrest report.
Michael Travis Stephens, 48, was arrested on July 1 on two felony charges of sexual battery of a minor and child abuse. Stephens lives with the victim and her mother.
At around 6 a.m., the victim and her mother were in the home’s garage when Stephens came into room, the report said. The victim told Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies that she was sleeping when she woke up to Stephens touching her thighs and whispering in her ear.
She said she was afraid, so she pretended to be asleep at first but attempted to get up when he tried to pull down her pants, the report said. The victim said her mother had secretly called the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and that’s when deputies arrived on scene and “banged” on the door.
The girl said she secretly opened the garage door and that’s when she and her mother ran screaming from the garage to a neighbor’s home, the report said.
Stephens refused to cooperate with law enforcement, stating multiple that he “did not do anything wrong.” He also made several open-ended threats, the report said, before locking himself inside his home.
Deputies were eventually able to take Stephens into custody.
According to Flagler County Clerk of Court records, Stephens has no prior history in the county. He is being held in the Flagler County jail on $125,000 bond.