Gainesville man arrested for sexual battery on 11-year-old girl

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – David Franklin Wolfe, 64, was arrested yesterday and charged with four felonies related to alleged sexual activity with an 11-year-old girl.

A Department of Children and Families (DCF) investigator responded to a call about a child being hit in the head by her mother; while investigating the incident, she received information about sexual activity involving the girl and a neighbor.

On January 18, the investigator interviewed the 11-year-old girl, who said that Wolfe, a neighbor, had sexually battered her “every day since the summer… at least half a year.” She said he gave her money and let her play with his PlayStation 4 video game system.

The investigator also reported that she saw scarring on the girl’s wrist, and the girl reportedly said that Wolfe would wrap a rubber band (which she also called a “rope”) around her wrist so tightly that it caused injury. She said that if she refused to engage in sexual activity, he twisted it tighter and sometimes used the rubber band around her wrists to restrict her movement. She said it was extremely painful. She said Wolfe had once cut her on the thigh with a knife.

The victim’s mother reportedly told the investigator that her daughter went to Wolfe’s apartment alone almost every day. She said she had known for about two months that Wolfe was touching her daughter inappropriately, but the investigator reported that the girl’s mother never reported this to law enforcement or DCF.

The victim reportedly said her mother told her that if DCF opened a case, she would be taken away from her mother.

Wolfe is a registered sexual predator who was previously convicted twice for possession of child pornography and once for lewd or lascivious behavior. The victim’s mother reportedly told the investigator that she knew Wolfe was a sexual offender but believed he was only attracted to boys.

Gainesville Police Department officers went yesterday to Wolfe’s apartment to arrest him, and Wolfe allegedly pulled away and tried to run; he reportedly continued to resist even after being restrained by officers but eventually complied.

Wolfe’s full criminal history is unavailable (First Appearance Orders, which have that information, are not published in the court system for sexual offenses), but he was released in 2001 from a five-year state prison sentence out of Hillsborough County for possession of child pornography and lewd or lascivious indecent assault on a victim under 16; he was again convicted of possession of child pornography out of Okeechobee County in 2007 and was last released from state prison in February 2022.

Wolfe has been charged with sexual battery on a victim under 12, lewd or lascivious molestation on a victim under 12, aggravated child abuse, human trafficking for sex, luring or enticing a child, and resisting an officer without violence. Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at $1,955,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.