Lakeland police deny ignoring girl's sex abuse allegations

Lakeland police are defending their actions in a case involving the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl by a minister and his nephew.

An arrest affidavit written by the arresting Polk County sheriff's deputy suggests Lakeland detectives knew in July about allegations that the girl was having sex with the volunteer minister, 35-year-old Clevon Ghent, and his 18-year-old nephew Gernard Jones but did not pursue any charges. Ghent was a volunteer minister at Born Again Church of God and Christ in Auburndale

Police Sgt. Gary Gross, who supervises the Crimes Against Children Unit, said any suggestion that his detectives ignored criminal activity is just not factual. He said police did encounter the 12-year-old at her home in early July but that investigation involved allegations of inappropriate discipline at the hands of her father. The girl told detectives she had been having sex with boys about her age but didn't implicate the two men, Gross said.

Several weeks later Lakeland police received a call from the Pace School for Girls in Lakeland. Teachers there told detectives the same 12-year-old girl said she was having sex with the minister and his adult nephew, police said. A Lakeland police officer determined the alleged activity took place outside the city limits and turned the investigation over to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

"We wanted the right agency to handle that case, and those areas where she was having sex were not within the city limits of Lakeland," Gross said.

Gross says any implication that the police department didn't do enough is simply not based on fact.

"Surely we would have jumped on this with everything we had, but in this case it just wasn't there. That information didn't come forward until after the second report was made."

Ghent, who is charged with five counts of custodial sexual battery, was being held today at Polk County Jail with bail set at $1.25 million. Jones was being held with bail set at $200,000 on two charges of lewd battery.