NEW PORT RICHEY - When a New Port Richey woman heard the man across the street allegedly molested her son, she wanted the guy thrown in jail. Instead, police say, she settled for a $600 payoff.
"It seems the mother had information this was transpiring. Took some type of a payment from Mr. Quiles. Why, we don't know. But she did," stated Capt. Darryl Garman of New Port Richey police.
Now, rape suspect Nicholas Quiles is in jail, charged with capital sexual battery.
Cops charged the mother with the same crime, and also added a charge of child abuse because she allegedly didn't report it and also let the assaults continue on her 7-year-old son in exchange for a bribe. (Action News is not identifying the woman to protect the boy's identity.)
"There's action she could have taken to remove that child from that situation; she didn't do that. She took money and kept him in a bad environment," Garman continued.
Neighbors, meanwhile, can't believe what happened.
"I have a son who's 7 and he was friends with that little boy. And he also attended the same school as he did. And I thought it was very, very devastating to hear that a mother would do that to their child," Julia Payne observed.
As if this story isn't troubling enough, action news has learned Quiles worked nearly 10 years for the Department of Children and Families.
DCF wouldn't comment on-camera, but a spokesman said Quiles never had contact with children and was terminated four years ago because he kept missing work.
