INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A 52-year-old man suspected of sexually abusing a teenage girl for more than a decade, was jailed Monday, authorities said.
Richard Warren Silvers
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Richard Warren Silvers was charged with two counts of sexual battery. Silvers was held Tuesday at the Indian River County Jail on $100,000 bond.
Silvers’ booking information showed he lived in Okeechobee, but his arrest report showed he lived in Indian River County at the time of his arrest.
Indian River County sheriff’s deputies began investigating reports of sexual battery in March. The girl, now 18, told deputies Silvers had been touching her in a sexual manner since she was five years old, reports show.
The teenager said the sexual acts would occur every one-to-three days, authorities said. When the girl was between ages 13 and 15, she tried to tell Silvers to stop, but he continued, reports show.
The girl said Silvers had last sexually abused her on March 28 at a county residence along 23rd Street. The teenager eventually told her mother about the incidents, reports show.
The mother and daughter confronted Silvers two days later at the home, which caused a disturbance, deputies said. Silvers ran from the home while the mother dialed 911, reports show.
Deputies searched near the residence and found Silvers, who denied the claims against him, authorities said.
Authorities used a sexual assault kit to collect the teenage girl’s DNA, reports show. Deputies also obtained Silvers’ DNA through an oral swab.
Deputies on Dec. 14 received DNA Labs International results. The information showed Silvers’ DNA strongly matched with the girl’s sexual assault kit swabs, reports show.
Deputies arrested Silvers and booked him into the county jail.
Silvers was ordered not to have any contact with the girl. Silvers has an arraignment at 8:45 a.m. Jan. 28, 2022, court records show.
