Collier County grand jury indicts three accused of child molestations, one in homicide
A desperate student writing the word "help" on a school bathroom wall launched an investigation from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, resulting in one of four grand jury indictments this week.
State Attorney Amira Fox announced Thursday that a Collier County grand jury returned the indictments against four men in separate incidents after two days.
Cristian Cruz López, 27, of Naples; Pedro Lucas Escalante Morales, 28, of Immokalee; Randy Eugene Schoolcraft, Sr., 43, of Naples; and Michael Anthony Maldonado, 25, of Immokalee, were indicted on various charges.
All four are being held without bond.
“I hope these indictments bring some sense of comfort to the surviving victims, and the family and friends of all of the victims in these cases, to see that justice is being served," Fox said.
Michael Anthony Maldonado: First-degree murder
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The grand jury indicted Maldonado on one count of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm causing great bodily harm and shooting at or into an occupied vehicle.
Detectives said the shooting stemmed from a domestic incident about 6:30 p.m. Sept. 16.
The indictment said Maldonado crashed his vehicle into another vehicle with two people inside before firing numerous shots into the vehicle. One victim died and a second victim survived.
A memorial ceremony identified the woman who died as Laura Candia, 20, of Immokalee. The second person, her grandmother, Olga Welch, survived with serious injuries.
Cristian Cruz Lopez: sexual battery of a child
The Collier County grand jury returned an indictment against Cruz Lopez on one count of capital sexual battery on a child younger than 12, two counts of lewd and lascivious battery, one count of lewd or lascivious molestation and another count of lewd and lascivious molestation.
The indictment reports that on March 26, 2014, and March 25, 2017, Lopez did commit "the crimes”.
The defendant was arrested in 2021, following an investigation by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Section, after the child reported the crimes to an adult.
Pedro Lucas Escalante Morales: Sexual battery on a child
Escalante Morales faces charges of one count of capital sexual battery on a child younger than 12, three counts of lewd or lascivious battery, lewd or lascivious molestation, and lewd and lascivious molestation.
The indictment claims that between Aug. 14, 2020, and Aug.13, 2022, he committed the crimes on a child younger than 12.
Escalante Morales was arrested in September after the child reported the sexual abuse to a school youth relations deputy.
Randy Eugene Schoolcraft Sr.: Sexual battery on a child
Schoolcraft has been indicted on five counts of capital sexual battery, with the victim younger than 12, lewd and lascivious molestation, promoting a sexual performance by a child and 100 counts of possession of child pornography.
The indictment claims that between Aug.1, 2018 and Oct. 12, 2022, he battered the child younger than 12.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation after the victim wrote the word “help” on a bathroom wall at school.
That investigation also led to the discovery of child pornography in the defendant’s possession.
Do the three face death for 'capital sexual abuse'?
Fox explained that as of Oct. 1, the charges of capital sexual battery of a minor qualifies as a "true" capital crime in Florida.
The statute reads: anyone 18 years of age or older who commits sexual battery against a person 12 years of age or younger, or who injures the sexual organs of a child under the age of 12 by attempting to commit sexual battery, is guilty of capital sexual battery.
Those convicted of the crime now face either the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
"The death penalty cannot be sought on these cases," Fox said, because they occurred before the law changed.
Stacey Henson is the breaking news and visuals editor for The News-Press and Naples Daily News. You may reach her at shenson@gannett.com
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Collier County grand jury indicts 1 in child sex assaults; 1 in death
