A 66-year-old Ocklawaha man is being held without bond in the Marion County Jail after a young girl provided a disturbingly graphic account of how he sexually abused her multiple times when she visited his home.
An investigator from the Florida Department of Children and Families contacted a Marion County sheriff’s deputy on Jan. 29 about a report of a sex offense involving a juvenile under the age of 12 years old. The victim’s mother had told the investigator her daughter has visited the home of Frank Alwyn Nellis on a regular basis and stayed the night on multiple occasions. The victim’s age and relationship to Nellis were redacted from the sheriff’s office report.
The victim’s mother said the victim told her Nellis licked her private parts while she was undressed. Based on the allegations, DCF investigator and deputy scheduled a forensic interview with the victim for Tuesday, the report said.
During the interview, the victim said Nellis put his tongue in her privates when he kissed her privates, which she called her “hooha.” She later clarified that was her vagina and said Nellis would also kiss her buttocks. The victim said it happened on multiple occasions, according to the report.
Asked about the first time it happened, the victim said it was the first time she went to Nellis’ house. She said there were other people in the house, and she was in the bedroom with Nellis so her brothers wouldn’t see. The victim said the abuse would occur on Nellis’ bed with her laying down on her back. She said he would pull her pants and underwear down, put his tongue in her vagina and wiggle it, and say, “mmm,” the report said.
The report contains many more graphic details of the incidents. The victim said she told Nellis repeatedly to stop but he wouldn’t. She told the investigator he needed to talk to Nellis because she thinks he will keep doing it again and again. The victim said she told her mother and father about it after it happened. She didn’t remember exactly what she said to her mother about it, the report said.
The victim’s mother told the investigator that the victim told her about this sometime around Jan. 13 while on the way home from dance class. She said Nellis kisses her in the privates. Asked what she meant, the victim told her mother that Nellis kisses her in the front and back privates. The victim’s mother said she waited until the following week and asked the victim again, and she gave the same account. She said it took her a week to contact the sheriff’s office, according to the report.
The victim’s mother said Nellis’ wife passed away in December and she has been letting her children stay at his residence more often. She said she would rotate her children in and out of the house so Nellis wasn’t alone. The victim’s mother also said her husband confronted Nellis about the allegations. She said her husband told her Nellis seemed shocked and upset and told him to do what he needed to do, the report said.
The deputy responded to Nellis’ residence on Wednesday and brought him to the Central Operation office for questioning. After being read his Miranda warning, Nellis agreed to speak to the deputy. At first, Nellis claimed to not know why the victim would make these allegations. He then provided a situation where he would have to chase the victim around when she was naked because she didn’t want to get dressed, according to the report.
Nellis provided another scenario where he was in the shower and the victim got into the shower with him. He said the victim was naked and he told her she couldn’t be there. He claimed he put the victim on the bed in his room and had to wrestle with her to get her dressed but did not admit to anything, the report said.
During further questioning, Nellis confessed to putting the victim on the bed naked after she got into the shower with him. He said he was naked when he put her on the bed and had to fight with her to get her dressed. Nellis said the victim was on her stomach and he kissed her buttocks, then rolled over and grabbed her by the legs, according to the report.
Nellis said he did kiss the victim’s vagina but denied putting his tongue inside. He later confessed to putting his tongue in her vagina for “less than 6 seconds.” Asked when this happened, Nellis said sometime between Christmas and New Year’s of 2020, the report said.
Nellis was charged with sexual assault by a person 18 years of age or older on a victim under the age of 12. He’s being held without bond and will appear in Marion County Court on March 9.