Summer camp counselor accused of molesting girl
A 35-year-old camp counselor and school teacher is accused of molesting a girl who attended a summer camp where he worked.
Christopher Lawrence Falzone, of Davie, met the girl while at Camp Live Oak between June 11 and Aug. 3, according to Fort Lauderdale police.
According to the arrest report, the girl’s mother overheard a “grown man’s voice” on the phone with her daughter and saw Falzone’s name on the phone’s Facebook Messenger app.
When the woman asked her daughter if Falzone touched her inappropriately, she started to cry and said, “yes.”
The daughter said Falzone had fondled her about 15 times during camp field trips on the bus and at the beach. They also talked on the phone and sent messages via Facebook.
During an interview Aug. 7, she told detectives she had broken her arm and could not go swimming so Falzone sat with her under a tent caressing her while the other campers were at the beach.
He also put his hands inside her clothing while siting in the back of the bus on field trips but no one saw the fondling, she told detectives.
Sometimes they would talk and message each other on her babysitter’s phone after camp, she said.
On Aug. 3, Falzone messaged her apologizing for ending their relationship and explained, “I was told to stay away. You did NOTHING wrong and neither did I.”
Falzone told her, “I love you,” verbally and in messages, the arrest report stated, and he admitted it when questioned by detectives Monday, but added he did not recall touching her.
Falzone was arrested on a charge of lewd and lascivious molestation, records showed.
During a court hearing Tuesday, Judge Kim Theresea Mollica ordered him held on a bond of $25,000 and prohibited him from having contact with the victim — or any other minor — when he bonds out of jail.
According to its website, Camp Live Oak has two locations — Fort Lauderdale and Dania Beach and is the only camp in Broward County that is accredited by the American Camp Association.
In a statement, Ken Evans, executive director of Camp Live Oak, said: “Our commitment to the safety of our campers, staff, and surrounding community is our highest priority and chief objective. We have a zero tolerance policy for inappropriate misconduct within, or peripherally related to, our organization.”
Evans said his organization is cooperating with authorities, and added, “While we cannot speak directly to ongoing investigations, we will provide an update on authorities’ final determinations as they become available.”
Falzone is also a thirdgrade teacher at Renaissance Charter School at Cooper City, at 2800 N. Palm Ave.
In a statement, the school said, “We have been made aware of allegations and the arrest of one of our teachers regarding activities that occurred over the summer at a summer camp. Our highest priority is the safety and security of our students and the employee is on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”