Courtney Bonner of Boynton Beach, Florida was arrested on July 20 for allegedly molesting a 10-year-old boy after he reportedly admitted to sexually assaulting the victim to the boy’s mother.
Bonner, 17, faces charges for sexual battery on a victim under the age of 12 and lewd and lascivious molestation on a minor. He is being held without bond at Palm Beach County Jail. The press did not an attorney for him.
According to the arrest report, police began investigating the alleged incident on July 18 after they met the victim and his mother at Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach. The woman, whose name was not published, told investigators that she confronted Bonner after she heard rumors that he had molested a child in Delray Beach. Bonner admitted to touching her son, the report said.
The Child Protection Team reportedly examined the victim and found signs of sexual abuse. The boy told investigators that Bonner raped him in a closet. Bonner was initially arrested as a juvenile, but his case was re-processed and he is now being charged as an adult.
Another molestation case involving a victim under 16 years of age was reported in Coral Springs last month. Robert Gittle of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea was arrested on July 25 for allegedly planning a sexual tryst with a 14-year-old boy he met on Grindr.
Gittle, 25, is charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a minor and two counts of traveling to meet a minor for unlawful sex. He is being held at Pompano Beach jail on a $1 million bond. The press did not name an attorney for him.
According to the police report, Gittle and the teen had met for sex one before last spring in the upstairs bathroom of a Coral Springs library. The teen reported that incident to police in July. He told investigators that he met Gittle, who posed as an 18 year old, on Grindr and they soon began sending each other text messages. Gittle and the victim reportedly met on May 15 in a library bathroom and performed sex acts on each other. Surveillance footage from the library corroborates the meeting, the report said.
An undercover detective, posing as the teen, reached out to Gittle to arrange a second meeting in July. Gittle was reportedly eager for a second encounter. In his correspondence with the detective, he alluded to wanting sex but didn’t say more. He told the teen not to discuss sex via text message because “it could get him in trouble,” the report states.
“Robert Gittle was eager to meet the minor,” Detective Jason Carter wrote in his report. “During the conversation, Robert Gittle alluded to meeting with the child for a sexual encounter but refused to provide any details of his intentions.”
Gittle and the detective planned to meet on July 25 at Broward County Northwest Regional Library. He was arrested at the library. Records show he is on bond out of New Jersey for manufacturing, distributing, and possession of child pornography.
Source: 8.14.17 Courtney Bonner of Boynton Beach, Florida Accused of Molesting 10-Year-Old Boy.pdf