Courtesy photo/Jail mug. Joseph William Hurst, 58, of Port Orange, was charged Wednesday with sexually battering a 4-year-old girl, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.
ORMOND-by-the-SEA -- A 53-year-old Port Orange man was arrested Wednesday on charges of melesting a 4-year-old girl while at the child's mother's home, a Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman said.
The mother had come out of the shower oom when she walked in on Hurst and found him with his pants down, the Sheriff's Office said. Hurst was arrested Wednesday following a three-week investigation, stemming from that incident, during which he allegedly told the mother "It's not what you think it is, she accidentally pulld my pants down."
According to a Sheriff's report, there were several incidents of molestation of the little girl occurred June 1 and Oct. 7.
The mother had come out of the shower when she heard her daughter say to Hurst, "But mommy is home," when she literally caught him with his pants down, the Shweriff's Office said.
Hurst, who has a lengthy criminal history including battery, was accused in 1997 of molesting a child, but the charges were dropped. He was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail where he remained this morning on $200,000 bail.