Man Interviewing to Become Police Officer Admits to Abusing Young Girl: 'Little Sexual Games'

After a three-day trial, Stephen Bodley, now 26, was found guilty of sexual battery on a child less than 12 by a person under 18

Content warning: This story contains disturbing details of child sexual abuse.

• On May 8, a jury in Orange County, Fla., found 26-year-old Stephen Bodley guilty of sexual battery on a child less than 12 by a person under 18

• Authorities said Bodley admitted to sexually assaulting a young girl when he was also a minor during a job interview at the Apopka Police Department in 2021

• The victim, whose name and age was redacted in an arrest warrant affidavit reviewed by PEOPLE, said the assaults occurred on multiple occasions in Bodley's home

A Florida man has been convicted of sexually abusing a child when he was a teenager, after admitting to doing so while interviewing to become a police officer, authorities said.

On Wednesday, May 8, an Orange County jury found Stephen Bodley, now 26, guilty of sexual battery on a child less than 12 by a person under 18 after a three-day trial, according to a press release from the Office of the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

On June 16, 2021, Bodley was interviewing for a job at the Apopka Police Department and was asked to “expand on concerning answers he provided in a pre-test questionnaire,” the release states.

In it, Bodley described sexually assaulting a younger child when he was 12 to 13 years old and said that the incidents occurred 10 years ago in his home, according to an arrest warrant affidavit reviewed by PEOPLE, which also claims he admitted it again when he was questioned about it further.

“I can't remember but um, but what do you call it, yes, um, I used to um, play these little sexual games, like oral with my little [redacted] and I known she, she didn't know fully what was going on, and I used to watch porn a lot, so I had like a little addiction when I was younger,” Bodley told a detective at the time, per the affidavit.

When the detective asked Bodley to clarify what he meant by “sex games,” Bodley said he pulled his penis out, then switched to explaining the first time the incident happened, referring to it as an “accident,” according to the affidavit.

“He explained that he was going to his room naked and she was laughing and then she put her mouth on it (referring to his penis),” the affidavit states. “Defendant Bodley stated that it gave him an idea to ‘play this game’ and he would play the game with her ‘all the time.’”

Bodley added, “me knowing what it was, she probably didn't know what was going on, and so that's why I put it there,” according to the affidavit. Bodley also reportedly said that he believed the child was around age 9 or 10 at the time and that the incidents occurred “probably” three times.

Soon after Bodley’s admission, the Apopka Police Department initiated a criminal investigation, which led police to identifying the victim and her mother.

During questioning, where detectives informed her of Bodley’s admissions, the victim’s mother said she knew Bodley “since he was a baby” and did not suspect anything between him and her daughter, according to the affidavit.

“She stated Defendant Bodley took a personal interest in her daughter, but thought it was a normal familial relationship,” the affidavit states.

According to the affidavit, the victim, who was then interviewed by detectives, “became visibly emotional and stated she could not remember anything” when asked about the sexual abuse.

“In speaking to her further, she stated Defendant Bodley was her favorite [redacted] and that they were close,” according to the affidavit. In a later police interview, she recalled the assaults and detailed them with a detective.

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“She stated she ended up in the Defendant's room, and did not process it at the time, because she did not know due to her age, but the Defendant started kissing her on her body,” the affidavit states. “Then he took his penis out and stuck it in her mouth, and after that she ‘blacked out.’”

The victim, whose age at the time and current age is redacted in the affidavit, said the incidents occurred multiple times on different days in Bodley’s room and that she only remembered “things in pieces.”

“Each time it happened, she recalled the Defendant putting his penis in her mouth, the affidavit states. “The victim stated the Defendant thought his actions were funny, because he was laughing.” The victim also reportedly said it made her feel “uncomfortable."

The affidavit continues, “When asked to explain the ‘sex games,’ the victim stated she did not know what it meant to the defendant, but for her it was doing things to her she did not approve of or know of because she was young at the time.”

The victim told detectives that while she didn’t know Bodley’s age when the assaults began, she believed he was a teenager, according to the affidavit. Further investigation revealed that Bodley was between the ages of 14 and 15 at the time.

"Defendant Bodley openly admitted he made the sexual battery a 'game' to minimize his actions," the affidavit states. "Additionally, Defendant Bodley minimized his age, the victim's age, and the age disparity between the two, in a manner to justify his actions and behavior."

According to the press release shared by prosecutors, Bodley testified during the trial and “denied sexually abusing the victim despite previously admitting to committing the crime on three separate occasions.”

Bodley’s court docket confirms he is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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