BATON ROUGE - A man is accused of creeping into a family's bedroom and fondling a 7-year-old girl while she was sleeping next to her mother early Monday morning. 

According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, the assault happened around 1:20 a.m. at an apartment on Ned Avenue, in the Gardere area. 

The girl told investigators she was sleeping when the suspect, identified as 48-year-old Carlos Duartelanza, removed her pants and started grabbing her genitalia. The girl then woke her mom, who kicked the intruder in the face after realizing what was going on.

The woman then screamed for her husband, who struck the stranger with a lamp as he ran around the bedroom. He then briefly chased the intruder out of the apartment and into the street. 

A neighbor helped deputies locate Duartelanza about an hour later, and the family positively identified him as the man who appeared in their bedroom. 

Duartelanza admitted to going into the bedroom but denied removing the girl's clothes or touching her. He was booked Monday for home invasion and sexual battery.