A Lake City man surrendered his massage therapy and physical therapy assistant licenses to the state this month as he sits in the Columbia County jail for a child molestation charge.
Gary Feraudo has pleaded not guilty to capital sexual assault against a child under 12.
Records with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office show Feraudo is accused of sexually abusing the 7-year-old girl last year.
According to the arrest report, Feraudo knew the girl’s mother and even made sexual advances on the mom while giving her a massage on his massage table.
Feraudo practiced massage therapy in Lake City before his arrest and advertised on Facebook.
The arrest report shows this was not the first time Feraudo was accused of child molestation.
In 2004, a report was filed for similar allegations involving another potential victim but investigators said the case was closed because “there wasn’t enough evidence to prove the case.”
Investigators looking into the 2015 allegations contacted the alleged victim from 2004 and she told police the abuse started during the “summer before fourth grade.”
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She said she was scared to tell anyone because she was “terrified” of Feraudo.
“It shows a pattern,” Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson said.
Carson said even though Feraudo was not convicted in the previous case, he said the details of those allegations can be used against him.
“There are prior acts that can be brought before the court to explain his propensity to engage in this type of activity,” Carson said. “We’ve seen that they get better at it over time. That’s one of the things that makes them so dangerous.”
Carson said it’s possible Feraudo had access to other kids throughout the years though there are no other charges against Feraudo for child molestation.
“It’s quite possible that there are many, many more victims,” Carson said.
There is no statute of limitations for sexual battery of a child under the age of 12 in Florida and Carson said it’s possible other potential victims could still come forward.
Cox Media Group
