The alleged victims of William McCaughan Jr. did not live on Key Biscayne, Police Chief Frank Sousa said Monday.
“I called the FBI and I asked,” Sousa said.
With an additional four charges, McCaughan Jr. now faces accusations of enticing minors to engage in sex, as well coercing them into producing sexually explicit content.
He continues to also face two previous charges of possessing child pornography involving an 11-year-old Texas girl and asking an FBI undercover agent – in explicit terms – how he could obtain more illicit images. He has pleaded not guilty to the previous charges and has not entered a plea on the newer charges.
The new charges, docketed Friday, come as the Village holds what is being called “Protecting Our Children – Community Education Session” in the Community Center’s Lighthouse Room at 6 p.m. Monday.
The event is a result of an online petition drive signed by hundreds of residents asking for a public forum.
Critics behind the petition are upset that the Key Biscayne Police Department didn’t alert them to the FBI’s arrest of McCaughan in July. The pornography charges only became known on New Year’s Eve when McCaughan surrendered his law license.
Sousa said the island’s police force had no part in the investigation into McCaughan, which court papers indicate stretches beyond just him. The unredacted grand jury indictment with the four new charges remains under a court seal.
Supporters of the online petition – such as the political group the Key Biscayne Neighbors Association – are also upset about allegations contained in a Miami Herald investigation into a former gymnastic coach who operated on Key Biscayne.
No charges have been filed and the coach denies wrongdoing.
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JOHN PACENTI is the executive editor of the Key Biscayne Independent. John has worked for The Associated Press, the Palm Beach Post, Daily Business Review, and WPTV-TV.