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Title: 'Good Samaritan' raped in Tavares homeless camp, deputies say
Source:
Orlando Sentinel
URL Source: http://mobile.orlandosentinel.com/i ... ies&feed:i=54809518&nopaging=1
Published: Jul 8, 2010
Author: Stephen Hudak
Post Date: 2010-07-08 07:35:39 by James Deffenbach
Keywords: None
Views: 126
Comments: 4
TAVARES — A registered sex offender who lives in a wooded camp for transients near Florida Hospital Waterman was arrested today on charges accusing him of beating and raping a woman who helps the homeless. The victim, who was not identified by name, is a "good Samaritan" who routinely brought food and water to the homeless men in the camp and sometimes washed their clothes, said sheriff's spokesman, Sgt. James Vachon. Deputies said she fled the woods after the assault in a bra and jeans she found on the ground. Antonio Cardoza, 50, a registered sex offender in Lake County who lives in the woods, was arrested on charges of sexual battery and false imprisonment after the woman picked his picture from a photo lineup. The woman told deputies she was assaulted June 26 but did not immediately report the incident because she was afraid. Deputies learned of the alleged assault Tuesday night when she went to the Florida Hospital Waterman emergency room, seeking help for the bruising and swelling of her face. According to a document detailing probable cause for the arrest, Cardoza told another homeless man that he had gotten the woman "naked," but denied sexually battering her when confronted about her injuries. According to the arrest affidavit, the woman ventured into the wooded camp June 25 where she met with Cardoza and two other homeless men, who then walked to another camp, leaving her alone with Cardoza about 9 p.m. The camp is located off U.S. Highway 441 at Mount Homer Road and Huffstetler Drive. Cardoza, who has a lengthy prison record, is listed as a sexual offender on the Lake County Sheriff's website and was supervised by the Florida Department of Corrections since his release from prison in June 2009. He was sentenced to prison for lewd and lascivious assault on a child in Orange County in 1994. Stephen Hudak can be reached at shudak@orlandosentinel.com or 352-742-5930.
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#1. To: James Deffenbach (#0)
I'm a Good Samaritan who goes about armed.
#2. To: Turtle (#1)
It is a sad commentary and not always true but it seems sometimes that no good deed goes unpunished.
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