Alexandria Chery told family she was sexually harassed and molested by Sanel Saint Simon almost a year before she disappeared, according to a document released Thursday in the case against him.
Chery's mother filed a petition for protection against Saint Simon on behalf of her daughter after Chery disappeared.
In the petition, Chery’s mother Rosalie Joseph stated,
“In August 2013, my daughter Alexandria told family members that Sanel Saint Simon sexually harassed and molested her while she was in the car with him. One of my nieces was in the car when it happened.”
Joseph filed this petition on July 31, just days after Chery went missing and Saint Simon was arrested on charges of lying to law enforcement and attempting to destroy evidence.
“Before he went to jail, he made, he said something to my sister and that made her afraid,” said Ray Joseph, Chery's uncle.
The statement also said:
“I would like this order of protection to keep Sanel away from her, and to order him to no longer return to our residence. I know he is the suspect of the investigation of her disappearance, and I know that he has also previously sexually abused her. Please grant me this order of protection on behalf of my daughter Alexandria.”
The day after this petition was filed, Chery’s body was found in a wooded area near Reunion off Osceola Polk Line Road. Family members laid Chery’s body to rest last week. But investigators remain tight-lipped about the cause of her death.
“Yeah, there was a weapon involved,” Joseph said. “It was instant. She died the same day.”
Chery’s mother did not attend the court hearing, so the petition for protection was ultimately dismissed. We reached out to Saint Simon's attorneys, who said their client has not given them permission to speak to the media.
Saint Simon remains behind bars as a prime suspect in Chery's death, but has not been charged.