A Ruston man was arrested on a felony charge involving a juvenile following an investigation by the Ruston Police Department, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Bernardo Cervantes, 24, of Ruston, was arrested shortly after midnight on April 26 at a residence on Indiana Avenue.
According to the report, officers were dispatched around 12:25 a.m. to an Indiana Avenue residence after a request from the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office to attempt to locate a 14-year-old female who had reportedly run away with a 24-year-old male.
Officers made contact with Cervantes and the juvenile. Both were transported to the Ruston Police Department for questioning, with the juvenile separated from Cervantes.
The report states the juvenile told officers she had engaged in consensual sexual relations with Cervantes in Webster Parish. She said he later attempted nonconsensual sex with her in Lincoln Parish. Cervantes initially denied the allegations but later admitted to consensual sexual relations in Claiborne Parish, according to the report.
Following interviews with Cervantes and the juvenile, officers arrested Cervantes for felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile. He was transported to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center.
Bail was set at $65,000.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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