Girl tells cops woman beat her after learning teen was raped

15-year-old says woman blames her; man, 32, is arrested.

PALM BEACH GARDENS — A 15-year-old girl told police she was beaten by a Palm Beach Gardens woman who blamed her for being sexually assaulted.

The woman, Catalina Feliciano, 36, told an investigator she beat the girl with an electrical cord Thursday, leaving welts and bruises on the teen’s arms and back.

Feliciano is facing a childa b u s e c h a r g e , r e c o r d s show. She reportedly beat the girl just days after the girl’s accused rapist, Fausto Perez- Gonz a l e z , 32, was arrested.

Perez-Gonzalez of Palm Beach Gardens told police he had sex with the girl at least twice, including once while she was asleep.

The g i rl’s mother t o l d investigators she and another resident work nights, sometimes leaving Perez-Gonzalez at home alone with the girl and another child.

City police records do not indicate the girl’s relation- ship with either Feliciano or Perez-Gonzalez.

A Florida Department of Children and Families investigator learned about the physical abuse Friday while investigating the sexual-assault case.

The investigator asked the girl about the marks on her arms and back. The girl told the investigator Feliciano hit her with an electrical cord because the woman blames her for the sexual assault.

T h e i nv e s t i g a t o r c o n - fronted Feliciano about the marks. The woman told the investigator she’d hit the girl because she was angry and felt betrayed the girl didn’t tell her about the assault.

Feliciano blames the girl for the assault, saying the girl consented to sexual intercourse.

Under Florida law, the girl is not old enough to give consent. No one under the age of 16 can give consent under any circumstances.

Felic iano was released from the Palm Beach County Jail on a $3,000 bond.

Pe r e z - G o n z a l e z s p e n t three days in jail before being released on a $100,000 bond.