Mother speaks about son's child sex abuse charges

Woman says son innocent in child sex trade case

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In an attempt to clear her son's name, the mother of a man accused of sexually abusing a 6-year-old girl is sharing her side of the story.

Police arrested Ryan Harrover and three other men connected by investigators to the case of Dalina Nicholas -- the mother (pictured below) who police say sold her daughter for sex in exchange for drugs.

Convinced her son is innocent, Harrover's mother, Kathy Watters, said she's tired of seeing his mugshot and is refusing to believe a police report that indicates he molested the girl.

"It made me sick, and I knew it couldn't be true," Watters said. "I thought, 'How could this happen?' So I started asking questions."

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office booking photo of Dalina Nicholas

Watters said she immediately doubted her son could hurt a child.

According to Jacksonville police, Harrover is one of four men charged with abusing the same girl. Investigators said that in mid-January, Nicholas sold her daughter for sex in exchange for drugs.

The arrest report indicates the child named Harrover as a man who abused her, but Watters argues he spent time at the house for a completely different reason.

"Drug issues and this issue are two different things," Watters said.

She said before her son became aware of the sexual abuse charges that reportedly took place at an apartment complex, he called the Department of Children and Families to let it know about the possibility of child neglect by the mother. DCF said it can't speak specifically about this case but that any sort of allegation would've been investigated.

"Ryan is willing to cooperate in any way that he can help the state to get the people that are guilty of this, and for his own innocence and that the children will be OK," Watters said.

To prove his story, Harrover took a lie-detector test, and Watters said she has a copy of the results.

"I know the polygraph does not stand up in the court system, but I do believe it matters to the public, and he was questioned regarding all allegations, sexual allegations about this little girl, and he passed with flying colors," Watters said. "He has also been administered a psycho-sexual evaluation, which he also passed with flying colors."

For Watters, the fight continues. Harrover is expected in court in January.