A homeless man accused of misconduct with an 11-year-old boy in a Texarkana Public Library restroom stall pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon at a hearing in Bowie County, Texas.
Javier Perez, 26, appeared with Clayton Haas of the Bowie County Public Defenders Office for arraignment before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell on a single charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Haas entered a not guilty plea on Perez's behalf.
After First Assistant District Attorney Mike Shepherd and Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter said the state did not have any matters related to the case to address at Monday's hearing, Tidwell scheduled Perez for a pretrial hearing Oct. 22.
Perez has been in custody since his arrest June 27 by Texarkana, Texas, police. Officers were called by alert library staff who were familiar with the boy and became concerned when they twice saw Perez accompany the boy to the bathroom, according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account.
A male library staff member entered the bathroom and observed two pairs of feet in one locked stall. By the time police arrived, Perez was gone. He was later located and arrested at the Randy Sam's homeless shelter in downtown Texarkana.
The boy allegedly reported that when he refused to lower his pants at Perez's request, Perez pulled both his own and the boy's pants down. The boy alleges Perez groped him and sodomized him in the bathroom.
Perez is being held in the Bowie County jail with bail set at $100,000. If convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child, Perez will have to register as a sex offender and faces five to 99 years or life in a Texas prison.