Weston Podiatrist Found Guilty Of Sexually Abusing Teen Babysitter
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WESTON (CBSMiami) – A doctor accused of forcing a teenage babysitter to touch him on two occasions has been convicted of lewd and lascivious battery on a minor.
"I'm very thankful at this jury came back with a just verdict and my daughter has now been able to put this matter behind her," said the teen's mother.
The trial for Augustine Bollo, 49, a Weston foot surgeon, began last week after a mistrial was declared in February by a Broward circuit judge. The jury was reportedly shown evidence deemed inadmissible in court.
Bollo allegedly sexually assaulted the then 15-year-old girl while she was babysitting his children.
A jury of nine men and women first heard the now 19-year-old victim tell her side of the story about what happened on the night in April 2012 at Bollo's Weston home.
Earlier this week, prosecutors held up the jogging sweatpants Bollo wore the night of the alleged incident and showed a video of a meeting Broward Sheriff's investigators secretly recorded between Bollo, his wife and the victim's mother.
"The situation that this has caused has changed me tremendously as a person," said Bollo on the video, at what seemed to be a park. "And I drive with the Bible now. Not for guilt but for the situation."
The teen testified that her family and Bollo's family were friends for years. She said she was babysitting while the two women went out and after Bollo returned home, he sat next to her on the couch with the four kids in the living room.
"He told one of the kids to get him a blanket," the victim testified, saying Bollo put the blanket over her and him and took her hand and placed it on his private parts.
"Her feeling was that you took her hand and put it where it didn't belong," said the victim's mother, during the secretly-taped video.
She said Bollo later gave her $300.
"He says, like, hide it and don't tell your parents," the teen testified.
Defense attorney David Bogenschutz says the teen made the whole thing up.
On the stand Thursday, Bollo tried to discredit the babysitter's family as money hungry, saying he consistently helped them financially, including thousands of dollars in medical treatment.
He also attempted to paint the teenager as promiscuous and said his children never liked her because she ignored them.
In the end, however, the jury sided with the young girl.
Bollo now faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and was ordered into immediate custody. A hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday at 10 a.m. on a possible appeal bond.
The sentencing is tentatively set for July 29th.