Man, 74, arrested four decades after child sexually abused
A West Palm Beach man was arrested for a sexual battery that happened40years ago, police said.
That man — Michael Vanscoy — is 74 now. According to the Lake Clarke ShoresPolice Department, he was 34 when he allegedly forced himself on a 10-year-old girl.
And in 2013, nearly four decades after the alleged assault, she finally told police.
“This woman, she held it in,” said Lake Clarke Shores police ChiefWes Smith.
“It’s been something that’s been bothering her for many, many years, and I think she just felt like itwas time to take some action.”
According to the arrest report, Vanscoy was with the girl in a pool at a Lake Clarke Shores home in the summer of 1975.
The town of about 3,000 people is located just west of Interstate 95 between Lake Worth and West Palm Beach.
The
man
touched the girl in the pool and then again inside the house, police said.
Smith said at that time, the woman told a family member about the incident, but they were not receptive to the girl’s claims.
Feeling dismissed about the issue, the woman told Smith she tried to forget about it. In 2013, the woman retired from her job and found herself preoccupied with the assault.
With more and more openness surrounding sexual assault in popular culture and the support of her friends and family, the woman reported the incident to the police.
“[Sexual assault] always went on, it’s just people are more willing to come forward now,” Smith said.
“People look at these things and they have this black cloud in the past, and they just need to come forward.”
As of 2010, there is no statute of limitations for sex abuse cases where a child is the victim in Florida.
Smith said thewomanworked with the department and the State Attorney’s Office for three years to give them enough information to charge Vanscoy.
He said he hopes this woman’s courage to come forward will help other victims of child sex abuse.
“Any time you can help someone who has had all these things that went on in their life, and youcan see the emotions while they’re explaining these things, it’s very satisfying,” Smith said.
“I think this great relief for weight off her
Vanscoy is charged with sexual batteryand is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail. was a her, a shoulders.”
kjacobson@ sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6547 or Twitter @katejacobson