Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Teen Found Dead
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CUTLER BAY (CBSMiami) -- A man found dead at his Cutler Bay home is the same man charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl - the sister of his second wife, police confirmed Tuesday.
Authorities said they got a call around 7 a.m. from the home of the now deceased Dale Leary located at 8531 SW 185 Terrace.
"Once our officers responded to the scene, they found two people inside a vehicle," said Det. Argemis Colome with Miami Dade Police. "Miami-Dade Fire Rescue determined that one male had been deceased on scene and the female was transported to Jackson Hospital."
The woman inside the vehicle with him was identified as his ex-wife - Claudia Leary. At last check, she was expected to be OK.
Both had left suicide notes but police have declined to reveal the contents of those notes.
Authorities said homicide and sex crimes detectives are taking part in the investigation.
Just last week Dale Leary, 50, was charged with luring a 14-year-old girl - the sister of his young second wife - Marta San Jose - to conduct sexual acts. Twenty-one year old San Jose, also charged in the case, remains in jail.
When asked if Leary's ex-wife Claudia had participated or known about her husband's alleged pedophilia, Det. Colome responded, "Everybody involved is being investigated. That's why sex crimes detectives are participating in the case."
Court records show Leary was not a stranger to the law. He was charged and convicted of indecent exposure, kidnapping, sexual battery and more, dating back to the 1980s. It's a history that bring up even more questions in this sex scandal.
"They've been here for at least 10 years, they've had several [exchange students]. So we don't know if they were doing anything to any of the other ones," said Leary's neighbor, Mr. Rockman. "These people that bring these kids in, they do not investigate the backgrounds on where they are sending these children and things like this can happen again."
His ex-wife Claudia had been working with Miami-Dade County Public Schools for 23 years as an Education Support Specialist. A school district spokesperson said that Claudia had no contact with students in her position since it was an administrative post.
As for San Jose, she had been staying at Leary's home since she was 16-years-old as part of an international educational exchange program where they brought her in from Spain.
When she turned 18, Leary divorced his wife at the time, Claudia, and married San Jose so she could stay in the U.S., according to the arrest report.
Her family, unaware of the marriage, later sent her 14-year-old sister to accompany San Jose back home to Spain.
The sister, who will remain unidentified, said at first things seemed to be normal during her stay at their apartment but a few days later that changed.
In the presence of Leary, San Jose told her 14-year-old sister that she had been sexually assaulted by their parents when she was very young. The teen sister replied saying she didn't remember that, to which her older sister said she would have been too young to remember.
Her sister then told San Jose the co-defendant could examine her private parts to prove she was sexually assaulted, according to the police report.
The report goes on to say Leary put his hand down her pants to check and then told her she was not a virgin, proving that she was sexually assaulted.
The teen later admitted to police she began to believe what her sister had told her.
A few days after that, the report states San Jose and Leary convinced her to perform sexual acts with them numerous times. The teen claimed her sister told her it would help her deal with reportedly being sexually assaulted by her parents.
At one point during her stay, Leary reportedly gave the teen sister large sums of alcohol and then had her pose naked for photographs along with her sister.
Both San Jose and Leary faced numerous charges, including lewd and lascivious conduct, sexual performance with a child and engaging in a sexual act with a familial child.
San Jose remains in jail but Leary had gotten bail but was being held under strict house arrest.