8-Year-Old Sexually Assaulted By 'Extremely Intoxicated' Fire Captain, Mistook Child For Adult

An Arizona fire captain was arrested after he sexually assaulted an eight-year-old girl mistaking her genitals for an adult’s mouth, court documents obtained Friday said.

The incident came to light after Michael William Palmatier, 48, called his co-worker and said he attended a relative’s birthday party at a home on April 21 where he did something that could not be taken back. Palmatier said he hurt his neck earlier that day while having sex with his girlfriend after which he took a prescription muscle relaxer and went to the party. He then entered a bedroom during the party and started kissing the victim.

Palmatier then started crying and apologizing over the phone before saying that “he let his demons get out,” the Arizona Republic reported.

In another phone call, Palmatier allegedly said he “sexually desired” one of the adults he saw at the party and hence went to the bedroom. He, however, claimed that he thought he was kissing an adult's mouth rather than a child's genitals.

“Michael admitted the entire thing was wrong but he would never knowingly do anything sexually to a juvenile. He also commented, ‘Yeah I have a sick side to me, like a sexually sick side to me, but not in that way,’” the court record stated.

Palmatier, a fire captain of nearly 20 years, was taken into custody Wednesday. The court documents claimed the victim was asleep when Palmatier entered the room and sexually assaulted her. She woke up to Palmatier performing a sex act on her after which she ran into a nearby bathroom to escape his advances. The girl allegedly told her aunt that the man “had removed his pants and underwear and licked her.”

Palmatier “abruptly” left the party after which a male friend arrived at his home to confront him. Court documents said the accused “appeared to be extremely intoxicated” when he opened the door.

Palmatier, who was arrested on suspicion of sexual conduct with a minor, was released from custody and was scheduled to appear in court May 1. Meanwhile, Palmatier resigned from his post after the arrest.