Repeat sex offender, 11-year-old victim’s mother sentenced to prison
A twice previously convicted sex offender will spend the next 50 years in prison alongside an 11-year-olds girl's mother for sex crimes and physical abuse.
Circuit Judge William Davis sentenced David Wolfe, 65, of Gainesville this week to consecutive, 25-year terms in prison for repeated sexual abuse. The victim's mother, 42, of Gainesville was sentenced to 10 years for neglecting to report Wolfe's sexual abuse. WUFT News is not publishing the victim's mother's name to protect the identity of the young child.
The 11-year-old girl rightfully sought out her mother's help while experiencing Wolfe's extreme sexual and physical abuse, but received no help in return. The mother, who knew of Wolfe's past conviction, didn't believe her daughter and let her continue spending time with him.
Wolfe, who lived near the victim, sexually and physically abused the young girl, luring her with cash and opportunity to play on his PlayStation. He was previously convicted twice for possession of child pornography – once in Hillsborough in 1997 where he served four years, later getting out on probation in 2006, and once in Okeechobee in 2008 where he served 11 years.
In 2007, before his 2008 conviction, Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office officials searched Wolfe's bedroom after an incident where he printed eight sexual photos of young, naked boys from a neighbor's laptop. In his bedroom they found child erotica, sketches depicting young males performing sexual acts, four children's lunch boxes, tickets to Walt Disney World, 40 childrens movies and 30-50 handwritten child pornography website addresses.
In the last quarter century, Wolfe has spent more days behind bars than he has lived freely. The next 50 years will be no exception.
The mother said she believed Wolfe was attracted only to boys and allowed her daughter to visit his apartment alone during her free time and after school at Southern Pines Apartments, with three other sex offenders on the same street.
"Her mother would often reach out to her teacher and tell her to make sure she goes to David's house after school," said lead investigator and detective Desiree Russano.
The young girl also confided in her mother's best friend who also didn't believe her, according to Russano.
Wolfe told the young girl his sexual preference was young boys under the age of 13, but that the victim was special, paying her up to $20 and letting her play videogames on his PlayStation 4, depending on the sexual act she performed, according to court documents.
Online, his predatory activities continued. Wolfe communicated on the dark web with other self-described pedophiles about methods to victimize other young children.
"He talked about stopping by bus stops to see children on their way to school.... He hoped that this 11-year-old victim would bring little boys to his house so he could abuse them," Russano said.
The sexual acts committed by Wolfe are, "some of the most heinous things I've ever heard happen to a person," Russano said.
The girl's mother was also accused of punching her daughter in the head with a closed fist.
The abuse from the mother and Wolfe went unreported until a routine medical appointment where the young girl expressed a desire to harm herself and explained her mother's physical abuse, Russano said. This led to a Florida Department of Children and Family investigation, where officials learned of Wolfe's sexual abuse, leading to his arrest in January.
"She is courageous. She is brave, and she has a long road ahead of her to recover," Russano said.
The victim has since been placed with a family member. Russano urged parents or those close to children to listen and believe them.
"Take them seriously, report it to us and we'll investigate it."
