STERLING, Colo. — A 56-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting an 8-year-old child in her bedroom in northeastern Colorado, according to the Sterling Police Department.
According to an arrest affidavit, Sterling police were called around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday to a home on Walnut Street for a reported home invasion and kidnapping attempt. The suspect had entered the home sometime between 1 and 2 a.m. that night. Police said the suspect likely came and went through the back door, which may have been unlocked.
The victim told police that the suspect came into her room, put a blindfold over her face, and grabbed her out of bed. She awoke and started fighting back, the affidavit says. The suspect then hit the child on the head, rendering her unconscious, and left, the affidavit says. The victim woke up and ran into her mom's room to tell her what happened.
The affidavit says the suspect was wearing a cloth clown mask during the assault. The mask was left in the child's room along with a pair of gloves. Police said the suspect also took the victim's phone. Location data from that phone was used to help identify the suspect, the affidavit says.
According to the affidavit, the suspect, Thomas Gallegos, lived in the neighborhood. The victim's mother told police that the previous weekend, Gallegos had come over to help install a washer and dryer in her home.
Gallegos was taken into custody Saturday on suspicion of the following charges, according to police:
- First-degree burglary
- Second-degree attempted kidnapping
- Second-degree assault
- Third-degree assault
- Child abuse
His next court appearance is set for Nov. 4.