Man faces second sexual battery chrge

NORTH PINELLAS -- A Palm Harbor man who was arrested on charges of sexual battery on a 6-year-old boy faces another charge of sexual battery on a 10-year-old boy, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday night.

George De Jesus Rivera, 21, was arrested on Jan. 3, the day after police say the first crime occurred. Police say the second charge arises from numerous incidents during a six-month period beginning in June 2005, when the victim was 9.

On Jan. 2, the younger boy told what happened to his mother, who had seen the man leaving a closet where he was with her son. The investigation led to De Jesus Rivera’s arrest, and police say questioning revealed another victim. Detectives interviewed the mother and the 10-year-old boy and added the second charge Tuesday evening.

Police say De Jesus Rivera knew both boys. The crimes occurred in three private residences in Palm Harbor.

-- Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer