Girl, 12, fights off attacker in hotel elevator

A 12-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in a hotel elevator by a man who followed her into the resort hotel, authorities said Tuesday.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Rich Mankewich said a man followed the girl, who was alone and looking for her mother, from the parking lot into the Enclave Suites on Monday night. A room key is required to enter the hotel, but Mankewich said the man slipped in behind her.

Once on the elevator, the attacker groped the girl over her shorts, investigators said.

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The girl told investigators she bit the man after he put his hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming. She pushed the emergency button and ran out when the elevator stopped, Mankewich said.

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The sheriff’s office arrested Carl Moore, 36, late Tuesday. Moore was charged with attempted sexual battery, false imprisonment and lewd molestation. He was being held Tuesday night at the Orange County Jail, but it was not known if he had an attorney.

The British girl recently arrived in the United States with her family. Investigators said she had taken a self-defense course just two weeks ago, which police credited with helping her end the attack.