By JEFF BURNSIDE
NBC Miami

A man visiting from the Dominican Republic who was given a place to stay for several months by a friend is now in jail charged with sexually abusing and raping the young children living at the home.

Moises Rodriguez, 56, is charged with four counts of sexual battery on a child and two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation. Police say his victims were 3, 7 and 8 years old.

“Children love me,” Rodriguez allegedly told the parents, according to police. The mother said she saw one of the children mimicking a sex act with his brother. When she asked where he learned such a thing, the boy said it was Rodriguez. That led to more details, which included injuries to orifices and repeated attacks.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office complaint affidavit says Rodriguez initially denied the allegations. When police said the children had given detailed accounts of what happened, police say Rodriguez told them it may’ve been from accidental contact.

Authorities weren’t buying it.

“He was a family friend,” said BSO spokesperson Dani Moschella, “and he abused their children.”

But police believe, given the nature of child molesters, that there are other victims. As difficult as it is, police are urging those families to come forward now so additional charges can be added.

Moschella said parents are often understandably worried about strangers molesting their children. But she said statistics suggest most such sexual molestations are perpetrated by people known to the victims or families.

“That’s what happened here,” she said.

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