Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Police in Sanford, Florida, are asking anyone with information on a local pastor who they believe has sexually abused multiple children in his congregation.
Yersson David Solarte Basto, 33, was charged with sexual assault on a victim under 18 years old and lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim under 16, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.
Solarte was a pastor at IPUL Pentecostal Church in Sanford, or Iglesia Pentecostal Unida Latinoamericana Orlando Norte, during the alleged abuse. The crimes were reported to police “after the most recent incident,” according to local media. The victim said she was abused by Solarte on multiple occasions before he “expressed his love for her” and she “refused his advances.” After that, the girl told police he “tried making her jealous” by abusing her sister.
In addition to previous incidents, the pastor is accused of molesting the girls on April 7 and, a month later, was arrested by officers with the Prince William County Police Department outside of Washington, D.C., while vacationing with family.
Solarte has since been removed as pastor at the church, according to the Sanford Police Department.
“Due to the position of trust Solarte was in as a Pastor, there is a possibility that there may be additional victims who have not come forward yet,” officials said in a news release.
Anyone with information regarding Solarte may call the Sanford Police Department or Crimeline at 800 423-TIPS (8477) or visit www.crimeline.org.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm with offices throughout Florida including in Miami, Key West and Orlando. The firm has secured numerous record settlements and verdicts on behalf of injured clients involved in cruise ship accidents, motor vehicle crashes, medical negligence cases, and those who have been the victims of crimes. In nearly 50 years of representing individuals through such cases, our attorneys have consistently fought for the best possible outcome for every client.
In Key West, where the firm has maintained an office on historic Whitehead Street since at least the 1980s, Leesfield & Partners secured a record verdict for a woman who was attacked at a local resort. In that case, a man was allowed to enter a parking garage on the property and wander around the area for at least 20 minutes without being questioned by security. When he encountered our client, the man launched a vicious and violent attack and used a hammer to cause significant and permanent injuries to our client’s face and head.
The hotel entered into a confidential settlement with our client the night before a verdict of over $40.5 million was handed down against the remaining defendant. This case marks the largest verdict in Monroe County’s history.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro handled a negligent security case at a different hotel, which resulted in a $16 million settlement for a husband and wife who were brutally attacked during their stay. The husband was severely beaten and the wife was beaten, sexually assaulted, and raped by a man who entered the hotel and was not questioned by employees or security. This man entered the elevator and went up to our client’s room where he launched his eventual attack. This horrific crime was witnessed by both security and hotel employees who did nothing to intervene.
This hotel had a known history of violence and criminal activity and, despite advice from security personnel and police, the hotel’s management refused to hire armed security guards.
With these harrowing cases in mind, it is easy to cast a stranger in the role of a villain. In this firm’s experience, however, that is not always the case. Eight out of 10 perpetrators of sexual abuse are someone who is known to the victim, according to data from the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). These individuals can be anyone from a neighbor, family friend, counselor, church official, tutor, teacher or coach. In decades of personal injury practice, our skilled attorneys have obtained verdicts and settlements against churches, schools, summer camps and after-school programs for failing to protect the children in their care.
Previous Cases
Previously, Leesfield & Partners secured $8.6 million for a camper at a well-known Florida summer camp. In that case, a camp counselor was sexually abusing our minor client. This counselor’s strange behavior and other blatant warning signs were ignored by camp officials, allowing the abuse to continue.
Similarly, the behavior of a teacher at a prestigious Florida high school was ignored, allowing the teacher to continue the serial sexual abuse of multiple students.
Following litigation, the school was made to pay out several multi-million-dollar preparations for our clients.
The firm previously represented four adult victims who were abused by the same church official as children. The abuse in this case took place as our four clients were enrolled in parochial schools and participated in various church events and services. This church official had been transferred at least eight times throughout this time, a warning sign of sexual abuse, according to Critical Research on Religion, a peer-reviewed academic journal publishing scholarly articles on the role of religion and its historical, political and social impacts on society.
Leesfield & Partners obtained a confidential settlement on behalf of our clients.
A child who was meant to be flying as an unaccompanied minor under the supervision of flight attendants was abused during the flight by another passenger. Leesfield & Partners obtained a confidential settlement with the airline.
Leesfield & Partners represented a child in a negligent supervision case involving sexual assault at a youth center. The firm obtained a six-figure settlement amount for the child in that case.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual abuse, you are not alone. Help can be found by calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
