A Kirtland man has been accused in the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl who lives with her family in Farmington.

Jacoby Daniel Love, 21, was charged with criminal sexual penetration of a child between the ages of 13 and 18, which is a second-degree felony.

The charges are in connection to an Oct. 13 incident in which Love reportedly was in the girl’s home at 1:40 a.m. watching Tik Tok videos with a family member. The girl was sleeping in a bed with her younger sister, according to the statement of probable cause filed in San Juan County Magistrate Court.

Love reportedly told sheriff’s investigators the family dog wanted to go outside, so he took it outside the residence. When he returned inside he went to the girl’s room and “placed the dog between (the girl) and her sister while they were asleep,” according to court documents.

In a statement to sheriff’s investigators, Love said placing the dog on the bed caused the girl to wake up scared, so he said he ran from the residence.

The 15-year-old told her parents, Love touched her inappropriately while she was sleeping, which caused her to awake. “She yelled for her mother, and Jacoby ran out of the bedroom,” the girl told authorities, according to the statement of probable cause.

The mother contacted the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office and when the deputy responded, he questioned the girl and her family. Then, the girl was transported to San Juan Regional Medical Center for an exam.

Love was found later at his home in Kirtland and was questioned by authorities. He was arrested and booked into the San Juan County Detention Center on Oct. 13. He was released from custody Oct. 16, after a public safety assessment showed he had no prior violent offenses, according to court documents.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Oct. 26 in Magistrate Stacey Biel’s courtroom.