LOCAL10] Miami-Dade police have announced the arrest of a man in connection with the abduction, assault and shooting of a 12-year-old boy over the weekend.He was identified Tuesday as 43-year-old Aliex Santiesteban.
Santiesteban faces charges of sexual battery with a deadly weapon/serious injury, kidnapping a child under 13 and attempted murder.
The boy was sexually assaulted and shot. He was temporarily blinded after a bullet struck him in the jaw and went out through the other side of his head, authorities said Monday.
“As the father of a 12-year-old myself, this is extremely disturbing and it hits you at the soul,” said Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez.
The victim still in a lot of pain as he continues to recover at Jackson Memorial Hospital, with authorities saying he likely has a long recovery ahead.
The boy’s life was likely saved by a good Samaritan, who police called a hero, and doctors say that if the bullet went a millimeter in either direction, he’d be dead.