A father who said he saw a man molesting his 4-year-old daughter behind a barn in Lavaca County apparently beat the man to death Saturday afternoon, officials said.

The death occurred about 3:45 p.m. at a horse barn along County Road 302 near Shiner, about 127 miles west of Houston, said Lavaca County Sheriff Micah Harmon.

Harmon said the victim, a 47-year-old Gonzales man, died at the scene. His name has not been released because his next of kin has not yet been notified of the death.

No arrests have been made in the case. Harmon said a grand jury will probably determine what, if any charges, will be filed.

Harmon said the father and daughter were at their barn with several other people to groom and care for horses there. The victim came with some of the other people, but was not well-known, if all, to the father and child.

The group later heard the girl screaming behind the barn, Harmon said. Her father ran to see what was wrong and said he saw the man allegedly sexually assaulting the child. While pulling the man away from the girl, he hit the man several times in the head, Harmon said.

The girl was taken to DeTar hospital in Victoria to be evaluated and to have tests done to determine if a sexual assault occurred. She was released later.

The Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office is expected to perform an autopsy on the victim to determine what caused his death.