Bradenton couple in jail after kids report sexual abuse, cops say

Manatee

A Bradenton couple is behind bars after Manatee County sheriff’s deputies say the father sexually assaulted his two adopted daughters for years and the mother knew about it and said nothing.

The Bradenton Herald is not naming the suspects in order to protect the identity of the victims.

According to the arrest report, the father sexually assaulted both of the victims when they were between 5 and 11 years old. The victims are now teenagers.

One of the girls told her mother of the abuse when she was 8 years old, deputies say.

The woman confronted her husband, who admitted he had abused the girl, the report states.

“Mom said that they all prayed about it and (he) said he would not do it again,” the report states.

The mother did not contact law enforcement and though the abuse did stop against the first victim, the second victim became the target of the father when she turned 6 and lasted until she was 11, deputies say.

The second victim disclosed the abuse after the older sibling came forward and according to the report, the woman confronted her husband again.

“So you molested both of your daughters,” the woman asked her husband, who again, admitted his actions to her and because he apologized again, the woman did not contact law enforcement, the report states.

Deputies say the father invoked his right to an attorney when arrested on Aug. 14 and would not speak to investigators when confronted with the charges. Deputies say the woman admitted to knowing about the abuse.

The man was booked into the Manatee County jail on capital sexual battery charges. The woman has been charged with felony child neglect with great bodily harm.