TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A Monticello man is out on bond after being arrested for allegedly molesting two young girls in Leon County "on a daily basis" over the course of a year.
Joe Michael Douglas Lanclos, 36, was arrested on Monday after the victims and their mother reported a case of molestation to the Leon County Sheriff's office on Aug. 25. According to a probable cause document, the victims, who were no older than 12 years old at the time, said that Lanclos molested them while they were living together in Tallahassee back in November of 2013 or 2014.
The victims told investigators that Lanclos would "tuck" them in one at a time each night. During those times, they said Lanclos would molest them.
"Each child stated they attempted to stay away from [Lanclos] by visiting friend's houses or going to their grandmother's residence. Each child stated the molestation occurred over the same timeframe," investigators wrote. "Each child stated the molestation occurred on a daily basis and occurred over twenty times."
In the beginning of September, investigators interviewed Lanclos, who said that he was a "father figure in the household" and had lived with the family in Tallahassee.
When asked about the accusations, Lanclos denied that he inappropriately touched the children and said that he would scratch the children's backs at night when he put them to bed, but did not molest them.
"[Lanclos] stated he would scratch one and then the other. [Lanclos] stated the children were in bed when he scratched their backs and they were on their stomach," an investigator wrote in the report. "I asked [Lanclos] if he ever went below their back. [Lanclos] stated no."
While Lanclos told investigators that the victims were like his own kids and said he would play with them all the time, he said he didn't recall touching the children in a sexual manner.
Based on the evidence, investigators found probable cause to charge Lanclos with three counts of lewd and lascivious molestation. Lanclos was taken into custody on Monday.
He was being held on a $40,000 bond, but has since bonded out of jail. As part of his release conditions, Lanclos has been ordered to have no unsupervised contact with minors and was not required to wear a GPS monitor.
