15-year-old battery victim hit by a vehicle in Marion County

DUNNELLON, Fla. (WCJB) - A man was arrested in Marion County on lewd and lascivious battery charges after a wreck landed a 15-year-old girl who’d run away from home in the hospital.

Marion County Sheriff’s deputies began investigating Steven Thomas Matychak, 19, after a car hit a 15-year-old girl at the intersection of Highway 40 and Highway 41 in Dunnellon on Sept. 11. The girl was taken to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville for treatment of traumatic injuries. She told investigators she lived in Santa Rosa County and was picked up by Thomas Matychak and taken to Marion County.

According to the arrest report, Thomas Matychak picked up the victim and her dog after she ran away from home. Thomas Matychak, who lives with his parents, snuck her into his room. They engaged in multiple sex acts.

Thomas Matychak got into an argument with his parents while the victim was hiding in his room. He then snuck her and the dog out.

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While walking along the roadway, the victim says she looked at her feet and then woke up in the hospital after being hit by a car. She says she doesn’t know what happened but fears Thomas Matychak may have played a role in her getting hit. She believes he may have been trying to get rid of her.

During an interview with detectives, Thomas Matychak said he was walking along Highway 40 when the victim was struck and the vehicle left the scene of the crash. While trying to help the victim, Thomas Matychak says the victim’s dog was also hit by a vehicle.

He admitted to having sex with the victim whom he knew to be 15 years old. He also admitted to knowing it was illegal.

He was booked into the Marion County Jail on the charge of lewd and lascivious battery as well as interfering with the custody of a minor.

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