MIAMI-DADE, Fla. — A Miami-Dade police officer was arrested on Thursday, accused of molesting a young girl, investigators say.
Miami-Dade Police Lt. Braulio Gonzalez, 44, has been charged with four counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child and one count armed kidnapping of a child. Both felony charges carry the possibility of a life sentence.
“Today, as a result of an ongoing investigation, detectives from our Special Victims Bureau arrested a member of our agency,” Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said in a statement. “To say that I am shocked and disturbed at these serious allegations is an understatement. As I have said before, no one is above the law and I offer the victim in the case, my assurance of our commitment to a thorough investigation.”
Investigators say that on September 5, the child told her psychologist that Gonzalez had molested her several times over the course of two years. According to an arrest affidavit, the victim was between the ages of 8 and 10 years old.
Law enforcement officials say that Gonzalez and the child were known to one another, ABC Action News is choosing to not elaborate in order to protect the identity of the victim.
Child protective investigators were called in to interview the child, who told them Gonzalez "would touch her vagina, breasts, and buttocks over and under her clothing," the arrest affidavit states.
The child stated that the first incident occurred when she was eight years old. She said she woke up to find Gonzalez pointing a firearm at her head and claims he told her that if she didn't follow him, he would kill her sibling, who was sleeping in the same bed.
"The defendant led the victim to his bedroom and she was told to lay down on his bed. The defendant put on a movie and laid down next to the victim. He began rubbing her stomach, then fondled her breasts, vagina, and buttocks over her clothing. The defendant continued doing this over the next two years," the affidavit reads.
Gonzalez was arrested on Thursday afternoon at the agency’s Special Response Team headquarters. He is currently being held in the Miami-Dade Jail without bond.
