(ANGOLA) - An Angola man faces felony charges involving a 16-year-old girl who both he and the girl told police is his wife.
According to Lynn Thompson of the Herald Republican, 21-year-old Deniss Guzman was arrested Wednesday after Angola Police responded to a McKinley Street residence for a reported domestic battery.
Court records say officers found the girl with a swollen face. She does not speak English and used a cell phone translator to tell police Guzman had slapped and hit her and that she was still in pain.
The girl told officers she lives and attends school in Goshen. She said she wanted a restraining order so she could return to Mexico while Guzman was in jail.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Guzman told police the two had married about a year earlier, when she was 15. He said they met in Mexico and came to the United States separately.
Police also reported finding a long, sharp knife inside the residence. Other people at the home told officers Guzman had threatened to kill the girl for talking to other men.
Guzman is charged with Level 5 felony sexual misconduct with a minor and Level 6 felony domestic battery in the presence of a juvenile.
The 16-year-old was taken to Cameron Hospital and turned over to the Indiana Department of Child Services.
Guzman was taken to the Steuben County Jail.
The charges are allegations. Guzman is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.