Mia Williams
Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
A Florida man has been found guilty of child sexual battery after admitting to the crime during a police job interview.
Stephen Bodley was convicted of sexual battery on a child less than 12 by a person less than 18 after a three-day trial.
According to a press release from State Attorney Andrew Bain, the 26-year-old was undergoing an job interview for a role with the Apopka Police Department in June, 2021.
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It was during this interview that the certified voice stress analysis examiner performed an examination on Bodley, which is often used to see if a person is being deciteful and are occasionally used by police to vet recruits, as per NITV Federal Service.
During the process, the examiner asked him to 'expand on concerning answers he provided in a pre-test questionnaire'.
"In it, Bodley described sexually abusing a child several years ago. He admitted the same when the examiner asked him to explain further." the press release said.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by The Independent, Bodley described sexually abusing a child when he was 12 or 13 years old in his questionnaire, also writing that the incidents occurred 10 years ago at his home.
The affidavit also claims that Bodley told a detective: "I can’t remember but um, but what do you call it, yes, um, I used to um, play these little sexual games, like oral with my little [redacted] and I known she, she didn’t know fully what was going on, and I used to watch porn a lot, so I had like a little addiction when I was younger."
When asked to elaborate, he said that he pulled his penis out, but claimed the first time it happened, it was an 'accident'.
"He explained that he was going to his room naked, and she was laughing, and then she put her mouth on it (referring to his penis)," the affidavit said.
"Defendant Bodley stated that it gave him an idea to ‘play this game’ and he would play the game with her 'all the time'."
As per the affidavit, he also said: "Me knowing what it was, she probably didn’t know what was going on, and so that’s why I put it there."
He also reportedly told detectives that the incidents occurred 'three times', and the victim was nine or 10 at the time, court documents claim.
After his revelation, the Apopka Police Department conducted a criminal investigation, with detectives obtaining further detail about the victim's identity.
Police then met with the victim and her mother, where they were informed of Bodley's admission.
When questioned, the victim's mother said she'd known Bodley 'since he was baby' and that he'd 'took a personal interest in her daughter, but thought it was a normal familial relationship', the affidavit claimed, as reported by People.
The victim, whose age then and now have been redacted, said the incident occurred multiple times on different days, and that she 'remembered things in pieces'.
According to the affidavit, she recalled each time Bodley 'put his penis in her mouth' and that he 'thought his actions were funny because he was laughing'.
She also reportedly said it made her feel 'uncomfortable'.
When asked to explain the 'sex games', the affidavit says that she 'did not know what it meant to the defendant', but for her, 'it was doing things to her she did not approve of or know of because she was young at the time'.
Detectives then called Bodley back to the station, where he was arrested, the press release says.
During the trial, he denied 'sexually abusing the victim despite previously admitting to committing the crime on three separate occasions'.
After being found guilty by an Orange County jury, he is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24 and the judge ordered a pre-sentence investigation to find the appropriate sentence.
The conviction carrys a maximum sentence of life in prison.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.