Deputy Jonathan Bleiweiss Arrested For Sexually Battering Undocumented Young Men In Florida

Jonathan Bleiweiss, 28, an openly gay deputy for the Broward County Sheriff’s Department in Oakland Park, Florida has been arrested for sexual battery against eight young, undocumented immigrant men and boys. A four-month investigation led police to arrest him after he assaulted a Ft. Lauderdale man in June. He is being held without bond and there are 14 charges against him including three counts of sexual battery by a person in authority, four counts of battery and one count of stalking. He’s only been charged for one assault thus far.

What’s creepy is that this guy really stalked undocumented, mostly latino men, aged 17-30 and made sure they were undocumented before stopping them for a bullshit charge and then either masturbating them or performing oral sex on them. The incidents occurred while Bleiweiss was on duty, armed and uniformed and some of them even occurred in his patrol vehicle.

Here is a video clip of Telemundo’s coverage of the arrest including a list of his charges and a witness to the assaults:

The lead detective in the case, Graciela Benito, had this to say to the Palm Beach Post:

Benito, the lead detective in the case, talked with the men during the four-month-long investigation that ended in Bleiweiss’ arrest. She said the victims’ cultural taboos may have also stopped them from going to authorities.

“In Latino culture, being raped makes you less of a man. You just don’t discuss those kinds of things,” she said.

Bleiweiss was just honored by the Sheriff’s department as 2008 Employee of the Year and written up in South Florida gay magazine, The South Florida Blade as a top cop.

BSO deputy placed in protective custody [Sun-Sentinel]
Broward deputy arrested, charged with sexual battery of illegal immigrants [Palm Beach Post]