An 8-year-old girl was alone at her rural home just outside Palmview when she claims she was sexually assaulted by an intruder.
Neighbors on this quiet Acevedo Street never expected that a horrific crime could be committed near their home.
Jenny Telles told Action 4 News she saw her 8-year-old neighbor running out on the street screaming.
"She just went running outside the house screaming 'Where's my mommy?' and everything,” Telles said. “She was too scared, she was studdering. She didn't want to talk to anyone but her mom."
According to the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office, the 8-year-old girl was left home alone.
That’s when a man allegedly went inside her house and sexually assaulted her.
The suspect is described as a Hispanic male wearing all black and a black mask.
Neighbors say they remember hearing screams from inside the house, but they had no idea the severity of the situation.
"We would hear noises, but we didn't know what had happened,” Telles told Action 4 News. “So we were just like oh, maybe someone is taking care of her inside and she's screaming because she wants a toy or something, but we never realized that it was like that. I didn't think something bad would happen so we didn't go in."
Deputies told Action 4 News that when the victim's mother returned home, her daughter desperately shared with her what happened earlier that afternoon.
The mother immediately called the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office to report the incident.
The victim was taken to a local hospital for a medical examination and later released to her parents.
A child interview specialist will be questioning the little girl for more information.
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