Child's secret Snapchat recordings help convict mother's boyfriend of yearslong sex abuse
Editor's note: This story contains descriptions of child sexual abuse that readers may find disturbing.
WEST PALM BEACH — The girl had endured years of sexual abuse by the time her mother’s boyfriend entered her bedroom and closed the door behind him. This time, she hid her cellphone beneath her pillow and set it to record.
Prosecutors played the Snapchat audio in court last month, the voice of her abuser amplified for jurors to hear. The Palm Beach Post is not identifying the man in order to protect the identity of his minor victim.
In the recording, the man asked his girlfriend's 12-year-old daughter if she needed reminding of what he did to her when she was little. No, she said. With her phone still out of his sight, she texted a series of pleas to two friends: “Help. He’s on top of me.”
It took jurors less than an hour to convict the man of child sexual abuse and even less time for a judge to sentence him to prison for it. Circuit Judge Daliah Weiss gave the 57-year-old West Palm Beach resident seven life sentences on Monday for a mix of child sexual battery and molestation charges.
'I want revenge': Serial sex offender threatened to hunt victims who testified against him
Her decision followed emotional testimony from the man's victim. Now 16, she wept while describing the abuse that began years before his 2022 arrest and continues to haunt her in the wake of his conviction.
“I shouldn’t have been 8 years old, praying to God for this to stop, asking myself what I did to deserve it,” she told the judge. “I shouldn’t have been 10, crying myself to sleep every night, feeling that it was my fault.”
Now, she prays to God that her abuser never has the chance to hurt another girl again, she said. Barring an appeal, he won’t.
Years of child sex abuse happened out of mother's sight
The girl told investigators that the abuse began when she was 5. She recalled times when her mother's boyfriend touched her beneath her clothing, before school when her mother was at work, or at night while her mother slept. She also said he showed her pornography and told her repeatedly not to tell their “secret” to anyone.
The man denied ever giving his girlfriend's daughter more than a friendly kiss on the head. When asked why she would make up the accusations, he told a deputy with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office that he didn’t know.
She had “absolutely no reason to lie,” Assistant State Attorney Bethany Johnson told the judge in court filings.
Found guilty: Victim's testimony helps convict sheriff's deputy after yearslong child sexual abuse
At trial, his defense attorney, Gregg Lerman, pointed to what he described as inconsistencies in the girl’s testimony and urged jurors to question why she refused to undergo a forensic examination. The girl, who was 12 when she reported the abuse, told investigators she felt self-conscious and didn’t want anyone to “look down there right now.”
“There should be some evidence beyond simply the statements of a 12-year-old that something occurred,” said Lerman, who is running to become Palm Beach County state attorney. “Basically, you’re denying a defendant exculpatory evidence when you don’t perform a vaginal examination.”
There was evidence beyond her statements, however, including the secret Snapchat recordings which Lerman tried unsuccessfully to keep jurors from hearing. He said nothing in his client's defense during the sentencing hearing on Monday.
At its conclusion, Weiss condemned the man for the “irreparable damage” he’d done, underscoring the point by sentencing him exactly as prosecutors asked her to. Four of his life sentences were required by law for his child sexual battery convictions. The remaining three were not.
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 is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Child's secret Snapchat recordings help convict serial sex abuser
