Arrested and Charged: Man Confesses to Sexually Assaulting a Young Girl in Florida During Job Interview for the Position of Police Officer
A 26-year-old man named Stephen Bodley was found guilty of sexual battery on a kid younger than 12 by a person under 18 by a jury in Orange County, Florida.
At the 2021 Apopka Police Department interview, Bodley admitted to sexually assaulting a girl. The victim, whose identity is being suppressed, stated that Bodley’s home was the scene of multiple assaults.
The victim was a minor when the perpetrator, a guy from Florida, was found guilty of sexually abusing him. According to the authorities, he admitted to the crime while speaking with a police officer.
Stephen Bodley, 26, was convicted guilty of sexual battery on a minor younger than 12 by a person under 18 by an Orange County jury. The case finally came to a conclusion. According to a news release from the Office of the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, the verdict was announced on Wednesday, May 8, following a three-day trial.
Apopka Police Department hired Bodley on June 16, 2021, after he had already taken a pretest and had specific questions asked of him, as stated in the news announcement.
During his younger years, Bodley admitted to a detective, “I can’t remember but um, but what do you call it? Yes, um, I used to play these little sexual games, like oral with my little [redacted] and I knew she, but she didn’t fully know what was going on. I used to watch porn a lot, so I had like a little addiction,” according to the affidavit.
In an affidavit supporting his arrest, Bodley detailed a troubling occurrence that took place in his family ten years ago, when he was twelve or thirteen years old, involving a younger child. When questioned further, he allegedly reiterated his admission of guilt.
As the detective pressed Bodley for more information, he brought up his genitals and the incidents surrounding them. He described the first event as an accidental occurrence, as indicated in the affidavit.
After Bodley confessed, the Apopka Police Department began looking into the case, which led to the discovery of the mother and victim.
While questioning Bodley, detectives notified the mother of the victim with his confessions. As stated in the affidavit, she indicated that she had known Bodley since he was a baby and had no doubts about any tie between him and her daughter.
The affidavit states that during the discussion with the detectives, the victim disclosed that she had no recollection of the sexual abuse and became visibly upset.
The victim mentioned that the incidents happened on several occasions in Bodley’s room and that her recollection of the events was hazy. The affidavit does not reveal her age either then or now.
The affidavit states that the victim told the officers that she didn’t know Bodley’s exact age when the attacks began, but she thought he was a teenager. The results of the additional investigation placed Bodley’s age between fourteen and fifteen at that time.
In court, Bodley “denied sexually abusing the victim despite previously admitting to committing the crime on three separate occasions,” according to a prosecutor’s news release.
The court docket for Bodley shows that his sentencing date is June 24.
