Accused of livestreaming sons' sex abuse, Florida mom casts doubt over evidence, wins bail
WEST PALM BEACH — Sex toys, cameras, deleted videos and a missing hard-drive were enough to bring criminal charges against a mother accused of livestreaming her sons' sexual abuse. But they weren't enough to keep her in jail for it.
Circuit Judge Sarah Willis ruled Monday that prosecutors did not meet the burden of proof needed to hold the woman and her boyfriend-turned-codefendant in jail ahead of trial. She set the mother’s bail at $200,000 and her boyfriend’s at $160,000 following a two-day hearing in a West Palm Beach courtroom.
Before the pair can bond out, both must show that the money used to do so was not obtained illegally. Once released from jail, both will be placed under house arrest, without access to children or the internet. Both remained in the Palm Beach County Jail as of Tuesday morning.
The Palm Beach Post is not identifying the defendants in order to protect the identities of the children they're accused of exploiting. Those allegations came into question this week, with one Palm Beach County sheriff's deputy unable to tell the judge exactly what evidence she'd seen of abuse.
The defense attorneys say that's because there was no abuse. They maintain that the boys' father, described as a vengeful and jealous ex-boyfriend, brainwashed his sons into falsely accusing their mother and her new boyfriend.
“This man has done nothing but wreck her life, and he’s still wrecking her life," said defense attorney Marc Shiner.
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Assistant State Attorney Kristin Grimes said there’s no evidence to suggest that the 14- and 7-year-old boys were coached by their father. However, it isn’t on the defense attorneys to prove their clients’ innocence; it’s on prosecutors to demonstrate their guilt.
Grimes, standing in for lead prosecutor Karen Black, did not call witnesses to testify during the two-day hearing. Members of both defendants’ families packed the courtroom behind her to show support for the couple and testify about the events leading up to their arrests.
None said they’d seen evidence of the yearslong sex abuse that the children described to investigators. The boys' aunt said that if she had, she would have called the police.
According to her, the only abusive one was the boys’ father. She focused on the man's substance abuse issues and lack of employment, telling the judge that he became increasingly unhinged after the boys’ mother broke up with him and evicted him from her home.
"Do you think he poisoned the boys' minds?" Shiner asked.
She said yes. The attorneys subpoenaed the boys' father to testify, but he did not appear in court.
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Defense attorney Heidi Perlet also called upon FBI Special Agent Sara Talley, who oversaw a raid of the couple's suburban Boca Raton home. When asked if that search yielded evidence of the production or transmission of child pornography, Talley said not yet.
However, the agent said that of the 56 electronic items recovered from the couple's Boca Raton home, she'd only reviewed seven. Grimes added that Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies notified the couple that they were being investigated four months before the FBI raided their home — more than enough time to destroy evidence.
Grimes suggested that's exactly what the defendants did. She pointed to the fact that one day after deputies notified the couple, someone deleted 33 videos from an online account linked to them. The website that hosted the since-deleted videos markets itself as a "moral-free" site for users to "upload your goodies."
Investigators also found a laptop in the house with its internal hard-drive removed. As for evidence collected from the social media platforms subpoenaed during the course of the investigation, Talley declined to say.
"There are matters I can't speak to here today, pursuant to Department of Justice policy," she said.
Shiner told the judge that neither boy agreed to be medically examined by authorities, which "certainly would have confirmed or refuted" the allegations of extensive abuse. He added that the Florida Department of Children and Families asked a judge to terminate the woman's parental rights soon after her arrest, but withdrew thatrequest last month.
Shiner said he suspects that the agency "recognized that these allegations were fabricated."
DCF attorney Rachel Cohen declined to comment on the case when reached by The Post. She referred questions to the DCF communications department, which did not respond to numerous requests for clarification.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the Palm Beach County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center can help. Reach their helpline at 561-833-7273, or toll-free at 866-891-7273.
Hannah Phillips covers criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Judge grants bail for Florida mom accused of livestreaming sons' sex abuse
