Former South Florida police lieutenant convicted of molesting young girls
MIAMI – A South Florida jury took 15 minutes Thursday to convict a former Miami-Dade County police lieutenant of molesting two young girls.
Braulio Gonzalez, 47, was convicted of armed kidnapping and several counts of lewd and lascivious molestation, the Miami Herald reported. Gonzalez, who had been with the Miami-Dade County Police Department since 1999, faces a minimum of 25 years in prison, the newspaper reported.
Gonzalez was originally arrested in September 2018, WTVJ-TV reported. A girl who was known to Gonzalez told a psychologist that she was fondled several times when she was between 8 and 10 years old, according to the Herald. The child also told a Florida Department of Children and Families official that Gonzalez pointed a gun at her head and threatened to kill her relative, the newspaper reported.
Another girl also told investigators about her own molestation. The victim told a therapist Gonzalez would walk into the bathroom while she was showering and stare at her through the glass door, WTVJ reported. She said it happened when she was 9 years old and continued until she was 11, the television station reported.
Gonzalez, who has been in jail since 2019, will remain behind bars until he is sentenced, the Herald reported.
Bruce Lehr, who is Gonzalez’s attorney, said he plans to appeal the verdict.
“My client maintains his innocence and did throughout this whole ordeal,” Lehr told the newspaper.
