A Florida man who told police he came to Maine to improve his life was arrested early Monday after breaking into a house in York and crawling into bed with an 11-year-old girl, according to York police.
Claudio Pinto, 31, of Miami was held at the York County Jail on Monday after his arrest on charges of burglary and assault.
Dispatchers received a 911 call at 2:30 a.m. reporting an unknown man had entered a home on Orchard Farms Road. The girl who called for help told police that the man had entered her bedroom and gotten into bed with her, police said.
The man fled before the girl called 911. The victim was not injured and her parents were home at the time, police said.
Sgt. John P. Lizanecz said the department’s canine handler, John Rogers, and his dog Gunter tracked the suspect to a nearby hotel. When they arrived, the officers saw Pinto leaving. He was questioned and arrested without incident. The hotel is located about a quarter mile from the girl’s home.
“Luckily for us, he was just walking out of the hotel. We knew it was him because of his bleached blond hair, something the girl had told us about,” Lizanecz said. “She did a great job of providing police with a description.”
Lizanecz, who interviewed the suspect, said he was cooperative, but that he offered no explanation for his behavior.
Lizanecz said that Pinto told police he came to Maine to look for work and to take courses at Southern New Hampshire University. Pinto also said he was drawn to Maine because the cost of living is lower here than in Florida.
Claudio Pinto Photo courtesy York Police Department
Pinto was being held Monday night at the York County Jail on $5,000 cash bail, pending his video arraignment Wednesday.
Staff Writer Gillian Graham contributed to this story.
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