Investigators said a girl with autism fought off a man accused of entering her home without permission.
ROCKLEDGE, Fla. — A teenage girl with autism told Rockledge police that she used a hammer to stop a man who had entered her home without permission and climbed on top of her, setting off a Brevard County investigation that now includes felony sex crime charges, burglary allegations and a court-ordered DNA submission.
The immediate importance of the case lies in how much of it turns on timing and proof. Police say the girl called 911 on Feb. 24 after the encounter and officers found physical signs of injury and blood inside the home. Brandon Scott McCuen, 29, gave investigators a sharply different account, saying the two had been in contact and had been together the day before. Prosecutors now appear to be narrowing the counts while they weigh medical evidence, digital messages and witness interviews.
The known timeline begins a few days before the reported assault. McCuen told police he met the girl at a gas station on Murrell Road and then started talking with her through Snapchat, text messages and another app. Investigators later found his phone number through a text on the girl’s phone, according to one report. McCuen said he went to the house on Feb. 23 and had sex with her. By the next day, the case had taken a very different turn. Around noon on Feb. 24, Rockledge officers responded to the home and found the girl outside with a hammer in her hand. She told officers that McCuen had come into the residence while the adults in the household were at work, told her to get on the ground and got on top of her in what one outlet described as a push-up position. She said she fought back, got above him and struck him once in the back of the head before he fled.
Police said the house itself became a key witness. Officers reported blood in the teen’s bedroom, on the bed and in the dining room. They also documented a paper towel with what appeared to be fresh blood in the garage. The teen’s description of the hammer strike matched the injury pattern investigators were looking for when they went to contact McCuen later. When officers reached him at a Rockledge residence, they said he was wearing a green sweater with what looked like blood near the bottom. In public accounts of the affidavit, police also said the home had written reminders telling the teen not to let anyone inside, a detail used to support the claim that his entry was not allowed. The victim’s exact age has not been released publicly, and many parts of the affidavit remain redacted because she is a minor, which means some parts of the relationship history and the sequence inside the home are still not public.
Investigators also turned to medical and forensic steps that often shape whether a case moves forward. During a forensic interview at a children’s advocacy center, the girl said she felt intimidated by McCuen and did not know how to tell him no, according to one local report. A nurse administered a sexual assault kit during that process. Those findings, together with the condition of the home and the phone records, appear to have helped support the arrest. Police said McCuen admitted he knew the girl had autism. That detail matters because prosecutors may use it to explain the power imbalance alleged in the case and the teen’s reported difficulty resisting or clearly refusing. At the same time, unknowns remain. Public reporting does not fully explain whether there were eyewitnesses, whether neighbors saw McCuen arrive or leave, or what the complete message history between the two shows.
McCuen’s legal status has evolved since the arrest. Early reports said he was charged with three counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and one count of burglary. Later court reporting said two of the unlawful sexual activity counts were dismissed because probable cause was not found, leaving one count of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and one count of burglary of a dwelling with battery in the case posture described there. Bond information has also differed by report. One account listed a combined $150,000 bond and conditions barring him from contacting the girl or returning to the home. A later WESH report said he was in jail with no bond and that a judge had ordered him to submit DNA for evidence during the week of March 2. That order suggests prosecutors are still trying to strengthen the evidentiary record before the next major hearing or filing.
Beyond the courtroom, the case has unsettled a small Brevard County community because it unfolded in a home in the middle of the day and because the teen was left to defend herself before police arrived. Yet the official story remains centered not on emotion but on proof. Investigators have cited the 911 call, the blood evidence, the phone trail, the forensic interview and statements from both the teen and McCuen. Public booking records show McCuen was arrested at 3:24 p.m. on Feb. 24 in Rockledge and booked early on Feb. 25. The records identify him as a Rockledge resident born Aug. 2, 1996. What happens next will likely depend on lab work, prosecutors’ charging decisions and whether defense lawyers challenge the way the statements and physical evidence were gathered.
As of Friday, the case stood in a transitional stage between arrest and deeper court review, with DNA evidence now in focus and the remaining felony counts under closer scrutiny ahead of the next court action.
Author note: Last updated March 6, 2026.