Charlotte Sun (Port Charlotte, FL) – Saturday, May 18, 2013
He faces multiple sexual battery charges in Charlotte County after he reportedly engaged in sexual activity with underage girls, including a relative. He’s accused of having sex with the underage relative, both electronically and physically, according to a Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office report.
Quinton Paul Handlon, 42, of Tallahassee, was charged Thursday in Charlotte County with sexual battery on a victim under age 12. On Thursday, a charge of lewd and lascivious battery on a victim between the ages of 12 and 16 was added for another victim, who was 13 when the act allegedly occurred. He also faces four counts of sexual battery by a custodian against a victim between the ages of 12 and 18.
According to the report, he was sexually involved with the relative over the course of five years from the time the girl was 11 years old. He also allegedly committed a sex act with her friend on an overnight trip in 2009.
However, the case stretches across several jurisdictions and involves different agencies, including the FBI, which conducted a undercover operation from October 2012 through April 15, secretly posing as the victim on her account. Emails during this time contain acknowledgment of receipt of child pornography, the report states.
The victim stated that most of the physical sexual acts occurred while she was at her grandparents’ Port Charlotte home, the report states.
But Handlon is alleged to have engaged in sexual conversations with the girl, sometimes contacting her while he was working at the Florida Department of Revenue in Tallahassee, according to the report. FBI agents determined the source of the email through the IP address, a report states.
Phone calls to the Department of Revenue in Tallahassee were not returned Friday.
Handlon allegedly instructed the victim to take pictures and make videos on a phone he had provided for her. If he was dissatisfied with what she sent him, he would threaten to take her phone away, a report states.
Handlon would also encourage the victim to ask her friends to send him photos and videos and engage in sexual acts with him and the victim, according to the report. On April 14, while unknowingly speaking to an undercover FBI agent, he asked for a sexually explicit photo of the victim’s 4-year-old sister.
In a conversation with an undercover federal agent on March 30, Handlon allegedly said he was bored at work and came up with a business plan to build a website especially for the victim with videos and photos of a sexual nature.
‘We can build the site around you,’ he wrote. ‘As we build, we can make more and more girls until we have a booming business.’
The CCSO became involved in the case April 15 when the victim gave her friend, ‘B,’ access to her account. The report states ‘B’ showed her mother some of Handlon’s comments and the mother immediately alerted the CCSO.
The mother said ‘B’ had also been sexually battered by Handlon when the girl accompanied the victim on an overnight trip to Universal Studios in 2009 under Handlon’s supervision.
At the time, Handlon allegedly pushed ‘B’ down on the bed and committed sexual acts with her. Debbie Bowe, spokeswoman for the CCSO, said the girl was likely 11 years old during the trip, depending on what time of year it was. Bowe said the exact time of year is unknown at this time.
According to the report, another victim was 13 when Handlon is alleged to have taken her for a ride in his car. While they were riding, the victim said Handlon was rubbing various parts of her body against her will. He continued to touch her inappropriately even though she continued to slap his hand away.
According to the report, Handlon’s sister, now 35, filed charges against him in 2005 after she woke up from an alcohol-induced slumber to find Handlon had removed her bathing suit and was on top of her performing a sex act. However, the woman never pursued the charges against him because she said that no one in her family would stand behind her, according to the report.
Before working at the Federal Department of Revenue, Handlon worked at Edison State College in Punta Gorda from the beginning of 2012 until he resigned on Feb. 28, according to Edison spokeswoman Teresa Morgenstern. He provided group and individual instructional support for specialized academics, according to his job description.
Handlon was arrested in Leon County on May 8 and transported to the Charlotte County Jail, where he is being held without bond. His criminal arraignment is set for July 17 at 9 a.m. at the Charlotte County Justice Center in Punta Gorda.
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