Pasco Man, 65, Molested Girl, 10, Deputies Say

PASCO COUNTY, FL — A 65-year-old Pasco County man’s claim that he grabbed a 10-year-old girl’s crotch to teach her how she should not be touched by others didn’t hold up as an excuse with deputies. That was especially so when the man changed his story twice while being interviewed by authorities.

The incident that led to the arrest of Rudolph Dacosta Small allegedly occurred around 2 p.m. Thursday. According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, Small asked the 10-year-old girl to kiss him. When she said no, Small grabbed her crotch, an arrest report states.

Small allegedly begged the girl not to tell anyone. The girl, however, told her mother who called deputies.

Small “admitted he touched the victim only to show her that she should not be touched this way by anyone else,” the arrest report said. During a pre-arrest interview, deputies say Small changed his story. The second time around, he said “his knee gave out.” That, Small claimed, caused him to fall and he grabbed the girl to steady himself.

Upon further questioning, the arrest report said, Small “changed his story once more.” The report didn’t elaborate on the third version.

Small was booked into the Pasco County Jail Thursday on a charge of lewd and lascivious molestation on a victim under 12. Deputies have not said what part of the county the incident allegedly occurred in to protect the victim’s identity.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office