FDLE memorandum provides more information about raid of Boukari Law and Alachua County Today offices in July 2024

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

This article quotes an FDLE document that contains allegations of criminal acts; however, no charges have been filed against any suspect.

ALACHUA, Fla. – A memorandum from the FDLE Officer of Inspector General, generated in response to a complaint about a search of an Alachua office in July 2024, provides more information about the evidence sought in the search.

The memorandum was filed as part of an unrelated lawsuit against Alachua Today, Inc., the owner of the Alachua County Today newspaper, and has not been posted in the court docket because Bryan Boukari filed a motion on behalf of Alachua Today to strike the document from the docket. However, the document was emailed to County Commissioner Chuck Chestnut and is available on the County’s email portal.

The Inspector General’s office produced the memorandum after investigating a complaint from Linda Rice Chapman about several aspects of the search, and the Inspector’s conclusion was that her complaints were without merit, but the memorandum reveals new information about the investigation that led to the search warrant.

On July 2, 2024, FDLE Special Agent Yolanda Carbia applied for a search warrant for the offices of Alachua Today and Boukari Law, which share the building at 14804 Main Street in Alachua; Linda Rice Chapman’s office is in the same building. The search warrant was served on July 3.

Allegation: FDLE agents illegally searched Chapman’s office

This section of the memorandum provides excerpts from the search warrant application and affidavit:

• “Victim 2 told YA (Your Affiant) that after the Facebook posts that Adam began removing items from his family’s business, Alachua Today, Inc. (Alachua Today) which is the premises to be searched, in an effort to destroy evidence.”
• “… she confirmed that semen from crimes as early as 2006 could still be present in the Alachua Today building and be viable for DNA testing.”
• “Based on the number of known victims, probable victims, and number of sex acts Adam has committed that have resulted in male ejaculation, it is highly probable for Alachua Today to contain trace evidence of semen from many victims. Your affiant knows that Victim 2 and another boy have ejaculated, in one spot in that building at least 45 if not 65 times.”
• “BASED ON THE FOREGOING, YOUR AFFIANT has reason to believe and does believe that the structure in question has contained in the past, and does contain now, certain instrumentalities and contraband which constitutes a violation of laws of the State of Florida, of certain evidence which constitutes proof of a violation of the laws of the State of Florida, and based upon the foregoing, requests issuance of search warrant for the above-described business to allow seizure of the above-described items.”

The FDLE Operational Plan for the search warrant provided this background information and scope for the search warrant: “An FDLE investigation revealed that sexual acts have occurred at Alachua Today/Boukari Law involving juvenile victims. The acts occurred sometime around the time period of 2006-2021. The acts involved the target of this investigation, Adam Boukari and juvenile boys… The building houses two businesses Alachua Today and Boukari Law. Both businesses are owned by the Boukari family… Photographs will be obtained and a search warrant for bodily fluids to include semen has been obtained. The scene will be processed by FDLE Crime Lab personnel with assistance from FDLE GFO Special Agents.”

The memorandum states that Carbia properly served and read the search warrant to H. Bryan Boukari, “who is listed in the search warrant as a person with control over the premises.”

The memorandum concluded that Chapman had never used the 14804 Main Street address in SunBiz, that she had been previously identified as “of counsel” to Boukari Law, and that there was no physical separation between her office and the other offices in the building that would indicate her office was a separate business.

Chapman alleged that agents had “rifled through” some of her papers, but the memorandum concludes that crime scene photographs taken before and after the search do not show that the documents in question were disturbed.

Other allegations from Chapman were also dismissed in the memorandum, mainly by referring to the photographs taken before and after the search. Similarly, allegations that some of Carbia’s Facebook posts and “likes” were inappropriate were determined to be unfounded, although the Inspector recommended “that JROC command staff review the interactions SA Carbia had on social media with witnesses to an active criminal investigation and take any action deemed necessary.”

The memorandum states that Chapman and H. Bryan Boukari believed confidential information was leaked to the media by Carbia because TV20 reported in March 2024 on an investigation into “crimes against children at Santa Fe High School,” but the Inspector found “no information in the articles that would constitute the release of confidential information of an active criminal investigation.”

Allegation: Bodily fluids would not be present today

According to the memorandum, Chapman alleged that “bodily fluids, specifically semen, would not be present today if the criminal activity occurred years and/or decades prior. The search warrant affidavit adequately addressed the issue, and informed semen could still be present though [a] substantial amount of time has passed from the alleged criminal activity.”

Allegation: Carbia is a personal friend of Attorney Bobi Frank, who brought the case to FDLE

The memorandum concludes that the investigation into Adam Boukari “came from a Source of Information (SOI) who initially went to the State Attorney’s Office (SAO) in Gainesville, who referred the SOI to Frank. Subsequently, Frank brought the information to FDLE. Additionally, Frank brought the same information from the SOI a year prior (October 2022) to the FDLE Gainesville Field Office (GFO), but the SOI did not return phone calls when GFO personnel reached out.”

Conclusion

Regarding the complaint against Carbia and allegations of improper actions during the search, the Inspector concluded that “no internal investigation was warranted in this matter at this time.”

Boukaris deny all allegations related to this investigation

Bryan Boukari did not immediately respond to a request for comment from him and Adam, but in our communications with members of the Boukari family since we first learned about the investigation, they have consistently denied any criminal actions. We will update this article with any statements from them.