CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police announced Monday that officers arrested a 13-year-old in connection with two sexual assaults from earlier in 2017.
One of the cases was from January, when police said a woman was sexually assaulted on Murrayhill Road, near Scaleybark Road, in south Charlotte.
The 24-year-old woman told officers she was attacked while taking a walk, and then forced to the ground before the sexual assault.
(Click PLAY to watch CMPD announcement on the arrest)
CMPD revealed Tuesday at a news conference that the 13-year-old was responsible for another sexual assault two weeks before the one on Murrayhill Road.
"We didn't know from the suspect description that this person was going to be a juvenile,” Lt. Melanie Peacock said. “It was kind of a surprise to find out that the person that committed this violent of an attack was that young."
Investigators said the other attack happened on Jan. 10, inside an apartment complex laundry room on Brookrun Drive. They said the teen attacked and sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl in the laundry room and was interrupted when a witness entered the laundry room.
"It's pretty alarming that a 13-year-old would even think of doing that," said Hunt Boling.
Boling told Channel 9 he was outside an hour before police cars flooded the neighborhood and may have even seen the suspect.
“He walked right by me and matched the description of what the police said it was," Boling said. "I couldn't predict something like that would happen."
CMPD said the 13-year-old was arrested for robberies in February and that the DNA collected from those cases matched the two sexual assault cases.
Authorities said the 13-year-old had never encountered the two women before the alleged assaults.
The teen is being held in a juvenile detention facility. Police are not releasing his name due to his age.
CMPD encourages any other victims to come forward in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call police.
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