Stephen Budd (criminal)
Stephen Budd is an American sexual predator, pedophile, and former teacher convicted in 2015 for the sexual acts he performed upon minors.
2015 crimes[edit]
In 2003, Budd was arrested shortly after exiting his apartment in West Palm Beach, Florida
On June 2, 2015, in the Palm Beach County in Florida, Budd was convicted with three counts of sexual battery on a minor, two counts of sexual performance by a minor, two counts of lewd or lascivious exhibition and two counts of sexual battery of two minors under the age of 12[1][2][3] and was sentenced with three life sentences and two sentences of 15 years in prison by Judge Karen Miller.[3] He was also classified as a sexual predator.[4] The two victims, now aged 18, testified to the jurors about Budd about how they were molested at the age of 9 and 10. The jurors were also informed of two hours worth of phone calls recorded by the police from 2013, of which were of Budd admitting to his crimes[3] and apologizing while showing remorse after the victims accused him of them, although at one point, he begins to gaslight them by saying "I can't admit to something I didn't do. I feel like these are serious accusations."[5]
One of the prosecutor's witnesses, aged 22, also testified how she was groped by Budd and how she was exploited by him to sexually touch him when she was a minor, age of 7.
Background[edit]
When teaching a 2006-2007 school year at Rosarian Academy, Budd created a system with play money, with the currency being called "Budd Bucks", which could be used to receive candy and prizes. Budd used this system to his advantage, persuading two 9-year-old elementary students in his class for sexual activity under his desk in return of candy.[3][4]
The crimes began to be a daily occurrence, at some times where "Budd touched the victims underneath their clothes, asked them to perform sexual acts on him and had them watch as he performed sexual acts on himself, coming from police documents. Budd also took lewd photographs of the victims with the classroom's Polaroid camera when he asked them to commit sexual acts with each other.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b ROGERS, ALEESE KOPF and DAVID. "Ex-Rosarian teacher accused of sex acts with kids". Palm Beach Daily News. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- ^ "FDLE - Sexual Offender and Predator System". offender.fdle.state.fl.us. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
- ^ a b c d Duret, Daphne. "Former Rosarian teacher guilty of molesting girls, gets life in prison". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
- ^ a b Joseph, Chris. "Stephen Budd Found Guilty of Molesting Elementary Students at Rosarian Academy". New Times Broward-Palm Beach. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
- ^ Entin, Brian (May 29, 2015). "Recorded calls played for Budd jury". www.wptv.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
- 20th-century American criminals
- American male criminals
- American people convicted of child sexual abuse
- American people convicted of sexual assault
- American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
- Criminals from Florida
- Pedophilia in the United States
- Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Florida
- Living people