Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Shawn Wesley Williams, aged 38, was taken into custody yesterday and faces four charges of lewd or lascivious conduct involving a minor under the age of 16.
On June 4, a 14-year-old girl, along with a relative, reported two incidents to a detective from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. By June 5, the detective collaborated with them to conduct controlled text exchanges with Williams, who is often referred to as “Wes.” Believing he was communicating with the minor, Williams supposedly mentioned a “friendship” with her and expressed a wish for her to “come for a swim again soon or maybe engage in more gaming!”
Allegedly, Williams proposed using Snapchat for further communication. Consequently, the detective messaged him via Snapchat, noting that initial discussions revolved around how much Williams enjoyed playing video games with the young victim. When the detective, impersonating the juvenile, asked about the latest incident, Williams reportedly allowed questions but first requested a picture of the juvenile saying “good morning or hey, Wes.” Even when told by the juvenile that she was still in bed, he insisted on getting a picture. The detective then asked why Williams had touched her buttocks, to which Williams reportedly replied, “What?! We were sitting pretty close if something like that happened it must have been an accident, sorry about that.” He then asked if they could play Roblox over the weekend and requested another picture, to which the detective responded that others were around and a picture would be sent later. Williams then mentioned he needed to return to work.
In a forensic interview with the Child Protection Team on June 11, the juvenile victim reportedly said the incidents started when she was 12 or 13; she said that when she was younger, Williams would hug her, with his hands moving lower and lower; he also said she looked good in a bathing suit when they were at the pool.
The juvenile victim said that in January, she was at Williams’s house with other people when Williams sat next to her on the couch, moved closer to her, and slid his hand under her buttocks. She said she moved to pick up a kitten to get away from him, and he touched her genitals, over her clothes.
She said the most recent incident was in late May, and she was at another house watching TV by herself when Williams came into the room and asked if she wanted to play Roblox. She agreed to play the game, and she said Williams touched her leg and placed his phone on her leg. Later, the two of them played Minecraft, and at one point she got tired of the game and put her controller down on her left side while Williams sat on her right. She said she played with her phone for a while and then Williams reached under her legs to grab the controller and then reached under her legs again to put the controller back, which appeared to the detective to be “an unnatural way for [Williams] to grab the controller.” The juvenile recorded this and also reportedly recorded Williams touching her inappropriately twice. The detective reported that the videos were consistent with the victim’s story. The girl said that after Williams touched her, she left the room and contacted a family member, who picked her up.
Williams was arrested yesterday evening in UF Parking Garage 6, and post Miranda, Williams reportedly said he had a good relationship with the juvenile victim; he admitted that he said she looked good in a bathing suit and did not believe that was abnormal.
When asked if he knew why deputies were speaking with him, Williams reportedly said at first that he didn’t know but then suggested it might be related to the most recent time he played video games with the juvenile victim because “they were sitting close.” He denied touching the juvenile victim inappropriately.
The detective asked about Williams grabbing the controller, and Williams reportedly said he was “positive” he reached over her to grab it; when shown the video, he reportedly said he did not recall reaching under her legs and still believed he reached over her.
When the detective explained that law enforcement had additional video evidence that he had touched her inappropriately, Williams said he would like to speak to his lawyer.
Williams has been charged with four counts of lewd or lascivious molestation. He has no local criminal history, and Judge Lourdes Rodriguez ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that hearing.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
