A man faces felony charges after he allegedly forced his way into a Texas hotel room and offered to pay a couple for sex with their 10-year-old son.
Louis Vincent Palmer, 32, purportedly resided in the hotel room next door to the unidentified family at an Austin Red Roof Inn. On Thursday night, he reportedly burst into their room after crossing paths with the young boy at a vending machine on the premises. Authorities say he offered to pay the parents $300 to have sex with their son.
KVUE reported the father said he gave the 10-year-old permission to go to the vending machine, which was located two floors down from their room. There, the child reportedly encountered Palmer. The suspect allegedly tried to give the boy money to show he liked him. The youngster frantically ran back to the family’s hotel room, saying: “Daddy, daddy, that man’s trying to get me.”
Subsequently, Palmer came to the family’s room, pulled out his wallet and offered the couple money in exchange for sex with the son. The parents refused. Palmer left. Then, the father went downstairs and asked the front desk clerk to alert local law enforcement.
Meanwhile, Palmer returned to the family’s room and knocked on the door, according to the court documents obtained by KVUE. The mother, who remained in the room with the children, opened the door, thinking it was her husband. When she saw Palmer, she claimed she told him to leave but he said no, insisting he wanted her son for sex. The woman allegedly closed the door in his face and called police from the room.
However, Palmer reportedly banged on the door and a window. The mother said she feared he would break the glass, get into the room, and take her children. To try to stop the suspect, she opened the door. Palmer forced his way inside. Later, the woman told officers she pushed him out and “slammed the door shut and got some scissors to try to protect herself and her children.”
Austin police said when they arrived they found the purported sexual predator inside of the family’s motel room with the parents and the children. Officers asked Palmer why he was in their hotel room. Allegedly, he replied: “I was trying to [expletive] him, and they won’t let me.”
Palmer told detectives he thought the boy was five or six years old when he approached him at the vending machine. The suspect admitted he tried to pay the couple $300 to have sex with their son, according to KXAN. Palmer confessed he was under the influence of marijuana, THC oil from a vape pen, and alcohol at the time of the incident.
It turned out the hotel manager previously called police after Palmer purportedly tried to kiss women working in the lobby.
Officers arrested Palmer on Friday and charged him with one felony count of burglary of a residence with the intent to commit aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to Travis County jail records. Authorities set Palmer’s bail at $100,000.
As of Monday morning, Palmer remained in custody at the Travis County Correctional Complex.
Follow Merrill Hope, a member of the original Breitbart Texas team, on Facebook and Twitter.