Teen charged with sex crime

GRACEVILLE -- A Graceville man has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said.

Christopher Michael Young, 19, Piney Woods Road, was charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a child between 12 and 16 years old, a second degree felony punishable up to 15 years in prison.

In March, the girl and her parents reported to JCSO that she had been sexually assaulted by Young, who was 18 at the time.

The victim said she was first assaulted by the defendant during the summer of 2013. Young had allegedly pushed the girl onto a bed and forced her to have sexual intercourse with him. The victim stated other incidents of sexual assault by the defendant had taken place over the past several months.

DNA evidence was collected from both the victim and the defendant. Investigators with JCSO recently received lab results from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Crime Lab confirming the defendant had been sexually active with the victim.