FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — A Flagler County man, who reportedly has ties to a church, has been charged with having a sexual relationship with 15-year-old boy, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies have charged Alphonso Joseph, 48, of Blare Drive with lewd and lascivious battery.
Multiple reports and social media posts indicate that Joseph may have worked as an overseer at a church in Flagler County, however that has not been officially confirmed.
Around 9 p.m. July 14, Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call about loud music playing in the area of Matanzas Woods Golf course.
Deputies say when they arrived they found a gray Toyota Camry and observed two people in the back seat pulling up their pants.
Deputies say the two people were interviewed separately, it was discovered that one of the individuals was 15-years-old. He told deputies that he met Joseph on a dating app.
When asked what they were doing in the area, deputies say Joseph stated they were "just chillin" and he had taken his shirt off because it was hot in the car.
“This sick and twisted individual preyed on a young child,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Great work by our deputies and detectives on arresting this child molester that took advantage of a child. This is another prime example of ‘See Something, Say Something,’ well in this case it was ‘hear something, say something’ worked and we thank the concerned citizen who alerted the Sheriff’s Office of suspicious activity.”
Joseph was arrested and taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility.
He’s facing charges of Lewd and Lascivious Battery on a Victim Over 12 Under 16 Years of Age.
He was released on Friday morning on a $15,000 bond.
