A Belleville, Ill., man has been charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl early Saturday in the Mehlville area.

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued charges tonight — Tuesday — against Larry Alverson, 41, of the 300 block of C Street W, Belleville, Ill., for one count of burglary in the first degree, three counts of statutory sodomy of a child less than 12 years old with a weapon and three counts of armed criminal action.

Alverson is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond.

On Saturday, the juvenile victim told police an unknown man brushed up against her at a local supermarket the previous day. The suspect followed her and her mother home, according to police.

The victim told place she woke up in the early morning hours of Saturday and found same man in the bedroom with her and her younger brothers. She said the man was armed with a knife and told them he would kill them.

The man sexually assaulted the juvenile victim. Both the juvenile victim and one of her brothers identified the suspect in a live lineup as the man who was in the bedroom that night.

Detectives from the St. Louis County Police Crimes Against Person’s Unit presented the case to the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s office this evening, when the charges were issued.

The St. Louis County Police Department is seeking the public’s help in identifying a suspect wanted for molesting an 11-year-old girl in the Mehlville area.

At 12:48 p.m. Saturday, officers from the South County Precinct received a radio call for a sexual assault. The call was made by a mother who was driving her 11-year-old daughter to a local hospital, police said.

The officer established a crime had occurred in the Mehlville area and subsequently contacted Crimes Against Persons detectives to respond. Responding detectives met with medical staff at the hospital, who believed a sexual assault had occurred, according to police.

Detectives conducted an interview with three children, including the victim, and two siblings, both juvenile males.

The interview indicated the victim first observed an unknown black male about 3:30 p.m. Friday in the Shop ‘n Save grocery store at 1032 Lemay Ferry Road. The victim told police that she felt very uncomfortable because the subject seemed to brush up against her two different times while walking around the store.

The victim told police that observed the same black male on the Shop ‘n Save parking lot in a small, black two-door vehicle when she and her mother were leaving, and the same black car and black male driving around her neighborhood several times after she and her mother had arrived home.

The victim also described the suspect’s clothing. A later investigation by Crimes Against Persons detectives revealed a black male subject, matching the clothing description, inside the Shop ‘n Save, at the time the victim and her mother were in the store, along with the suspect entering a small black car on the parking lot. The same black car then followed the victim’s mother’s car out of the parking lot as they left the store, police said.

The victim believed that sometime around 1 or 2 a.m. Saturday she was awoken by the same black male she observed at the Shop-N-Save grocery store, police said. All three children were sleeping in the same room and the suspect then threatened each of them that he would kill them if they did not remain quiet.

At this time, the suspect began sexually assaulting the 11-year-old victim, according to police.

The victim stated because all three children were scared the suspect may still be in the house and in fear for themselves and their parent’s lives, refused to say anything to their mother until they entered their mother’s car and were driving to get something to eat the next morning.

All three children told their mother what had happened, and she immediately dialed 911 while driving to the hospital.

Crimes Against Persons Detectives, the Crime Scene unit and the Forensic Unit responded to the 2900 block of Shores Drive where the alleged assault occurred to continue the investigation.

This investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the St. Louis County Police or Crimestoppers at (866) 371-TIPS (8477).