A South Florida man who is accused of impregnating a 13-year-old girl told investigators that he is in love with her.

West Palm Beach Police this week arrested 23-year-old Mario Rubendi Recinos Lucas on four counts of lewd and lascivious battery on a victim between the age of 12 and 18.

Police say the girl told detectives that she met Recinos when he moved into an apartment near where she lived, and that the had been dating for a year and a half.

She added that he would take her, her sister and another child to school in the mornings, and he would visit her at home after work, according to the police report.

The girl told detectives that her mom asked Recinos to get her children so that she could do chores, and that he acted as if he was taking care of them when the parents were not home.

Additionally, police learned that the girl had sex with the suspect on four occasions, the first time being in July of last year, about four months after they started dating.

The arrest report states that the suspect told officers that he met the girl in December of 2018 when she was 12, and he initially did not want to get involved with her. However, he felt an attraction for her and started dating her soon thereafter.

Recinos said that he wanted to tell the girl’s mother, but the girl suggested he not do so, so he could avoid going to jail.

He also told investigators that he wants to have a family with the girl.

Police say the girl gave birth to a boy two weeks ago.