- April 25, 2024
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The Palm Coast man who was arrested for molesting children in a group home in 2022 pled guilty to all 26 charges on Jan. 25. He was sentenced to 25 years at Florida State Prison.
Peter Strickland, 32, will be designated as a sex offender and, upon his release, will have to register as a sex offender for 15 years, according to a press release from Flagler County Sheriff's Office.. The man was originally arrested in July 2022.
He admitted to detectives that he had sexual relations with victims — ranging from 13 to 17 years old — around 15 times over two years, the press release said. In August and September, FCSO placed additional charges on Strickland after further interviews with him and searching his storage devices.
In total, Strickland pled guilty to and was sentenced for the following charges from three different cases: one count of unlawful sexual activity with a minor; four counts of lewd or lascivious battery sex act with a victim 12-16 years old; 16 counts of possession of child pornography; five counts of sexual activities involving animals.
“I’m thankful that our detectives and the State Attorney’s Office could bring this case to a close, especially during Human Trafficking Awareness Month,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. "We also hope that knowing the offender will spend 25 years in prison will help the victims recover from their trauma and the innocence he took away from them.”
FCSO detectives became aware of Strickland, a former city utility worker, during a human trafficking investigation in 2022, according to the press release. FCSO detectives received a delayed sex offense complaint involving multiple female victims living at a group home.
Through the investigation, detectives found that Strickland enticed victims with items of value in exchange for the sexual activity and would video record the sexual encounters as well, the press release said.
