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Police Lacked Evidence To Charge St. Pete Councilman In Sex Case Before His Death

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 11, 2007

Previous Coverage: Special Report

ST. PETERSBURG - Before his suicide, St. Petersburg City Councilman John Bryan acknowledged he improperly touched one of his adopted daughters twice, St. Petersburg police said, but he said the touching was unintentional.

The other adopted daughter denied he touched her, police said.

John Bryan

St. Petersburg police released a few details today apparently in an effort to correct statements other public officials have made in regard to the nature and scope of the investigation.

"Contrary to our normal procedures for releasing information to the media, we are compelled to provide some information in this case since some of the allegations from the original complaint — which have already been provided to the media by other sources — appear unsubstantiated at this point in our criminal investigation,'' St. Petersburg police spokesman Bill Proffitt said.

About 12:48 p.m. Wednesday, a call was made to Florida's Child Abuse Hotline reporting that John Bryan sexually abused two children about two years ago, Proffitt said. In compliance with Florida law, the caller's name is not being released.

The details of the allegation were forwarded to the St. Petersburg police.

About 4 p.m. the same day, two detectives went to a local school to interview one of the children named as a victim in the complaint. The child denied being a victim of the allegations, and the department's investigation has not uncovered any information to suggest the child was the victim of a crime, Proffitt said.

Later that afternoon, police interviewed a second child listed as a victim in the complaint. The 15-year-old girl denied some of the allegations that were described in the original complaint but told investigators Bryan touched her inappropriately twice about two years ago, Proffitt said.

Police interviewed Bryan that evening. He was cooperative and said he touched the child twice, Proffitt said, but told investigators his actions were unintentional.

Detectives determined they didn't have sufficient evidence to charge Bryan with a crime.

On Thursday, investigators working on the case notified the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office of their investigation.

When detectives contacted members of Bryan's family as part of the investigation, Proffitt said, they learned of an incident involving Bryan that occurred more than 20 years ago and was similar to the actions described by the 15-year-old. Investigators obtained a statement from a woman who is now 38, but no criminal charges were filed because the statute of limitations had expired, Proffitt said.

On Friday morning, Bryan attended a dependency hearing at the Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court Complex, where some of the information from the original complaint was presented. At 1 p.m., Bryan met with City Attorney John Wolfe and submitted his formal resignation from the city council.

Several hours later, Bryan was found dead in the garage of his Floral City home.

The St. Petersburg police Victim Advocacy program has offered support to the complainant and her family.

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