The former deputy commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles pleaded not guilty today to sexually assaulting a young girl over a period of several years and the arrest warrant has been unsealed.
Victor Diaz, 36, of Collins Street in Waterbury, was arrested last month in Westport, according to Waterbury police, and is accused of sexually assaulting a girl from the time she was around 11 years old.
Police started investigating after the girl opened up to a friend and said an uncle was sexually abusing her and touching her inappropriately, according to the arrest warrant application.
She later said the man was not really an uncle, identified Diaz as the man responsible and said was afraid she would get him in trouble.
After police received an anonymous tip, they interviewed the victim and she said that Diaz was a family friend and he touched her while her mother was in the shower or out of the house and would only stop when he heard her mother.
The abuse happened weekly, she told police, and she tried to fight him off, according to statements made to police.
She told police that Diaz bought her a phone and set up a Snapchat account, which deletes messages automatically, then asked for nude photos of her private parts.
She refused, but eventually did send the nude photos just so he'd stop asking, she said.
After receiving photos of the pre-teen, he'd send messages back, like "your (sic) beautiful and "your (sic) all mine," according to police.
Diaz denied touching the girl, admitted she was the only person he communicated with through Snapchat, but said he never received photos of the girl without clothes on, according to police.
Investigators were able to retrieve about 10 images that matched the girl's description of the photos Diaz asked her to send, but they have not been able to find them on Diaz's phone, police said. A forensic exam is pending.
The girl went on to tell police that Diaz bought her thong and lace underwear and used sex toys on her. He denied buying the underwear
When police asked Diaz about the allegations, he denied touching the girl, commented about his career, as well as his "six-figure salary" and said his life is over, according to the arrest warrant application.
Diaz has been charged with first-degree sexual assault, four counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, criminal attempt at first-degree sexual assault, second-degree unlawful restraint, two counts of second-degree sexual assault, criminal attempt at second-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and employing a minor in an obscene performance.
Diaz was held on $1 million bond, which was later lowered to $750,000. He has been released and is due in court on Nov. 7.
DMV Commissioner Melody A. Currey, who appointed Diaz as deputy commissioner in 2011 and accepted his resignation, said in a statement after Diaz's arrest that the "allegations are extremely disturbing."
Photo Credit: Waterbury Police Department