Prosecutors drop charges against man accused of molesting boy

Prosecutors have dropped charges against a San Carlos Park man accused in the spring of sexually assaulting a teenage boy.

And that’s because the Lee County man didn’t molest the boy, his defense lawyer said Tuesday.

Paul C. Laye, 41, was arrested March 28 by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and charged with one count of sexual assault after a 17-year-old Estero boy reported that Laye molested him. According to sheriff’s reports, the teen reported Laye molested him from December 2005 through March.

“He’s always denied the incident happened in the first place,” Laye’s defense attorney, Joe Viacava, said. “Mr. Laye never committed any illegal act, and he always denied it from Day One.”

Assistant State Attorney Francine Donnorummo, who serves on the office’s Special Victims Unit and handled this case, declined comment.

Lee County Circuit Court records show she decided not to file two counts of carnal intercourse, a second-degree felony. Second-degree felonies are punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

“We did not have enough information to file on that case,” State Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Chere Avery said of why they declined to prosecute it. “We didn’t have enough information to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Sheriff’s Capt. Jim Jones said detectives had enough evidence to charge Laye. But the Sheriff’s Office and State Attorney’s Office work using two different evidence standards, called standards of proof.

“We go on probable cause. The State Attorney’s Office is held to a little bit higher standard — beyond a reasonable doubt,” Jones said. “I guess they felt they didn’t have it. The Sheriff’s Office has every faith in the State Attorney’s Office.”

Noting Donnorummo’s good reputation and professionalism, Jones said he’d stand by her decision to drop the case even though he said their arrest was legal.

“We definitely had probable cause,” Jones added.

Laye could not be reached for comment. Laye had a clean record in Lee County, even free of traffic violations, before these accusations were leveled.

Because the names of rape and molestation victims are not released in police records, neither the boy nor his family could be reached for comment by the Daily News.

Arrest records show that the boy met Laye when the teen worked at a south Fort Myers fast-food pizza restaurant. While at a store in Miromar Outlets in Estero, Laye made “some gay comments” to the teen, and later molested him, according to arrest records.

“He accused Mr. Laye of sexually abusing him and that clearly was not the case,” Viacava said. “There were definitely some reasons (for the teen’s accusations) that I don’t want to disclose. We’re just glad this is behind him.”