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Charges dropped against Wakulla man accused of child molestation

Posted at 12:04 PM, Mar 15, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-15 12:04:24-04

All charges have been dropped against a Wakulla man who was arrested this week following accusations of child molestation from nearly 50 years ago.

The Wakulla County Sheriff's Office says 72-year-old Robert Grose was released from the Wakulla County Jail on Friday.

The state attorney's office has declined to prosecute the case and filed no information, meaning no charges will be brought against Grose.

According to the state attorney's office, the charges were dropped because the statute of limitations has run out on the charges from the early 1970's.

State attorney Brian Miller says, prior to 1973 the legal definition of rape was classified only to be between a man and a woman.

Miller also said prior to 1973, an unwanted sex act between two men was classified as an unnatural and lascivious act .

According to state laws, an unnatural and lascivious act is a 2nd degree misdemeanor with statutes of limitations running out after two years.

"I hated having to drop the charges because it never crossed my mind that raping a child could be anything but illegal. It takes a lot of courage to come forward for a victim. In 1972 they didn’t have much foresight,” said Miller.

Authorities told WTXL if a victim comes forward, they can still look into the case depending on the date range of when the incident originally took place.