School Resource Officer and School Custodian charged in separate incidents of soliciting and molesting kids
In Florida this week, a school resource officer and a school custodian were both arrested and charged with crimes against children. The crimes were not connected and took place in different parts of the state.
In Coral Springs, Florida, detectives with the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit arrested a Coral Springs Police Officer on charges he solicited a minor for sex.
On Friday, January 16, BSO ICAC detectives received information that Steven J. Daniello, who is a school resource officer at Westchester Elementary School in Coral Springs, was soliciting an underage victim online. According to the victim, Daniello, a longtime family friend, began conversing with the victim online in September 2020.
The conversations escalated to the point that Daniello offered to pay the victim for nude photos – and Daniello and the victim discussed the victim performing sexual acts on Daniello.
Once BSO ICAC detectives started investigating, an undercover detective began conversing with Daniello, who believed he was still communicating with the underage victim. The subsequent conversations corroborated the information provided by the victim.
Detectives arrested Daniello on Monday, January 19 on two counts of soliciting a minor to engage in sexual conduct. Detectives also obtained a search warrant for Daniello’s electronic devices.
Meanwhile, miles further up Florida’s east coast, a custodian supervisor at Starke Elementary School in DeLand, Florida, was arrested on charges of molesting a 13-year-old child while off duty. Maurice Carter, 46, was arrested Monday, January 18, on charges of lewd or lascivious molestation and aggravated child abuse.
The crime did not occur on school grounds; and Carter’s access to the female victim was not related to his job at the school. However, due to the nature of the crime and Carter’s proximity to children, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office wants to make sure the community and parents of Starke students are aware of the arrest.
Deputies responded Sunday night to Carter’s home in DeLand after an altercation was reported. Witnesses told deputies that Carter, who was intoxicated, was witnessed fondling and kissing the body of the 13-year-old victim.
Carter was arrested and transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail, where he remains in custody on $5,000 bond. At this point, the investigation has not shown any indications of any additional victims. Anyone with information about potential victims in this or any other case of sexual abuse of a child is asked to contact the Volusia Sheriff’s Office Child Exploitation Unit at 386-323-3574.
Both cases are still under investigation.
(Sources: Broward and Volusia County Sheriff’s Offices)
~ Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
