A 26-year-old Florida man could spend the rest of his life in prison after he admitted to sexually abusing his cousin when he was being interviewed for a police officer job. According to Fox News, the office of State Attorney Andrew Bain in a news release said that an Orange County jury had found Stephen Bodley guilty of sexual battery last week.
Bodley in a sworn officer application with the Apopka Police Department had initially referred to “playing sexual games” before he touched on the topic again in an interview.
“The certified voice stress analysis examiner performed a voice stress examination on Bodley,” Bain said. “During the examination, the examiner asked Bodley to expand on concerning answers he provided in a pre-test questionnaire.”
Bodley provided details about subjecting a child to sexual abuse and also admitted to the crime when he was asked to expound on that. The victim’s mother was ultimately contacted by detectives, and she told them that her daughter and Bodley had a close relationship, per The Tampa Bay Times.
The victim also spoke with the Florida Department of Children and Families and said Bodley sexually abused her for many years. She said the suspect abused her when he was aged between 14 and about 19 years old.
Bodley’s lawyer had wanted his confession to be excluded as evidence during the trial, but that request was dismissed by a judge. The 26-year-old’s sentencing date is set for June 24.
In 2019, Face2Face Africa reported that a serial rapist wanted by Georgia police since 2015 was finally arrested after he attempted to join their force. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kenneth Bowen III joined the Clayton County Police Department academy in June 2018 but was fired within a few months for lying to supervisors after arriving several hours late for training on September 12.
Though Bowen wasn’t with the academy for long, the information he provided was very crucial and vital to his eventual arrest. According to Clayton County Police Chief Kevin Roberts at a press conference, Bowen was behind seven rape incidents and a sexual battery case after forensic evidence linked him to the crimes.
“Had he not attempted to join ranks in the Clayton County Police Department, it is questionable as to when we would have apprehended him,” Roberts said at the time.
