This handout photo provided Monday Dec. 5, 2011, by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department, shows Jorelys Rivera, 7, of Canton, Ga. (AP Photo/Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department)
Click here to visit AJC.com and see pictures of the man arrested in connection with the case.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wednesday an arrest had been made but declined to release details.
It was not immediately known what charges were being brought. A news conference was scheduled at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday.
Jorelys Rivera was last seen Friday evening leaving a playground at her apartment complex.
Autopsy results showed the girl died of blows to the head and was stabbed and sexually assaulted before her body was placed in a trash bin at the complex.
<b>Previously posted</b>
CANTON, Ga. (AP) — A Canton funeral home announced that services for a 7-year-old girl who police say was abducted and killed have been set for this weekend.
Darby Funeral Home said the service for Jorelys Rivera is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at First Baptist Canton.
Police said the girl was last seen Friday near her Canton apartment. They believe she was abducted near a playground, taken to a vacant apartment nearby and attacked. She was sexually assaulted, stabbed and beaten, and her body was dumped in a trash bin.
Investigators say they feel strongly that someone who lives in the River Ridge apartments or had regular access to them may be her killer. No arrests have been made.
Let this serve as a lesson for caregivers to reiterate 'stranger danger' to our children. But ALSO remember that this story made headlines because this case is an extremely unusual event.
Most sex offenders are not on the registry. Most offenders are not strangers. (Even in this case, if the story is accurate, this guy worked on the grounds crew so thus the child might have 'known' the perpetrator.) The girl might have gone willingly with him since she had seen/known him before.
Regardless, statistics show that less than 1% of offenders are strangers. Your kid is, statistically, MUCH more safe at a playground than a family reunion. Tell your kids that if ANYBODY (adult, teenager, another kid) does ANYTHING that makes him/her feel uncomfortable, to talk with a trusted adult. And mention other adults (besides yourself) they could tell. ...Sometimes kids don't tell their parents because they are scared or don't want to upset their parents. (Do you have stuff you wouldn't want YOUR mom to know?... Kids are the same way.)