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Man Rapes Sleeping 6-Year-Old Girl in Bedroom: Police

A man was arrested after he allegedly broke into a suburban Philadelphia apartment and raped a 6-year-old girl who was sleeping in her bedroom.

Oscar Rivera Herrera, 28, is charged with rape, rape of a child, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, indecent assault, burglary, criminal trespass, terroristic threats and simple assault.

Shortly after 4 a.m. Monday, Hatfield Township Police received a report of a burglary in progress at the Hatfield Village Apartments in Hatfield Township. An 11-year-old boy told police a man broke into his family’s apartment and may have done “something” to his 6-year-old sister. The boy said he discovered the man naked in bed with his sister and immediately alerted his parents. The man, later identified as Rivera Herrera, was being held at knifepoint by the girl’s stepfather, police said.

According to the affidavit, Rivera Herrera pleaded with the stepfather while he was being held, telling him, "Kill me! Kill me! Or let me go!"

"I have to give great credit to this 11-year-old boy who had the courage to step up and help his sister and great courage to the family for the restraint that they exercised," said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman. 

When police arrived they found Rivera Herrera lying on the floor of the bedroom. Police determined he had broken into the apartment and sexually assaulted the girl. 

Rivera Herrera was taken into custody. During an interview he allegedly admitted to entering the apartment through a living room window and getting into the same bed as the 6-year-old girl. He also allegedly told police he had broken into the same apartment two to three months prior though no one was inside at the time.

Rivera Herrera doesn't have an official address. Neighbors say he moved out of the Hatfield Village Apartments and was known to frequent the neighborhood, often visiting the local grocery store. Crystal Dutter told NBC10 her boyfriend went to high school with Rivera Herrera in Puebla, Mexico. She also said Rivera Herrera's son is classmates in Kindergarten with her son.

"He's a really great father," Dutter said. "That's what blows my mind. He has a kid of his own that same age. How could he do something like that?"

Rivera Herrera was arraigned Monday night with bail set at $1,000,000. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19. Information on Rivera Herrera's attorney was not immediately available.

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