LAKELAND, Fla. — A Lakeland man is accused of giving drugs to a teenager with autism, contributing to his death.
Agents with FDLE say that on December 27, 2017, with the permission of the child's grandmother, Alain Luis Forget, 58, took a 15-year-old with autism to a residence in Hamilton County.
It had belonged to Forget's deceased father. Two days later, the child was discovered unresponsive and Forget called an ambulance.
The child was pronounced dead at a local hospital. In January of 2018, an autopsy revealed the teen had morphine and Xanex in his system. The medical examiner determined the child died from pneumonia and drug toxicity.
"I got a phone call that my son was unresponsive and on the way to the hospital," said the victim's mother, Cassie Egan. "It was the worst thing I've ever been through in my life."
Egan is speaking out to ABC Action News about Forget's arrest this week. She says Forget was a longtime family friend who forged a special bond with her son from an early age.
“He was family to us," said Egan. "My son loved him very, very much and he trusted him and that hurts me.”
Agents conducted interviews with family members and others familiar with Forget. They believe Forget gave the teen drugs and sexually battered him prior to his death. Additional sexual abuse allegations were made against Forget during interviews.
He is charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a child less than 16 and two counts of delivery of a controlled substance to a minor.
Detectives believe there could be additional victims. Forget has residences in Lakeland and Sorrento (Lake County), Florida. If you have any information about Alain Luis Forget, please contact FDLE’s Live Oak Field Office at (800) 226-5630.
