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Tuesday, Mar, 19, 2024
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Anna Maria sex offender gets probation, plans return to city

am-sex-offender.jpg
Busted
Anna Maria resident George Pyke, of 776 N. Shore Drive, as he appeared in an Orlando courtroom May 10 after he was convicted of a sex crime against a minor and given 10 years probation. Photo: Courtesy Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
am-sex-pyke.jpg
Sex offender's house
The house at 776 N. Shore Drive in Anna Maria was listed by convicted sex offender George Pyke with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as his permanent address. islander Photo: Rick Catlin

An Anna Maria doctor convicted in Orlando of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy in 1991 won't be going to jail, but instead plans to return to his residence at 776 N. Shore Drive following a judge's ruling that allows him probation instead of prison.

George A. Pyke, 58, was sentenced May 10 to 10 years of probation by Judge Marlene Alva after pleading guilty to lewd and lascivious assault on a child.

According to a witness to the trial, three counts of capital sexual battery against Pyke were dropped by the prosecution under an agreement approved by the victim. In addition, Judge Alva withheld adjudication pending completion of Pyke's probation.

In court, the victim, who was not identified by an Orlando Sentinel story on the trial, read a statement that indicated the assaults against him began in 1991.

"He took my childhood innocence away and I will never be able to reacquire that," the victim said. "Pyke's actions ruined my childhood. Now, he will no longer ruin my life," he concluded.

According to testimony, Pyke lived in the Orlando area from the 1980s until moving to Anna Maria in 2001. The sexual assault took place in Seminole County.

Carrie Hoeppner of the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, which had jurisdiction of the case, said SCSO investigators found four male victims of Pyke, three of whom are now adults. The juvenile victim apparently lives in Anna Maria, but was not identified by Hoeppner.

According to investigators, a pattern of sexual abuse against young boys was established beginning in the late 1970s. The most recent incident was in 2005 in Anna Maria.

"The abuse allegedly took place during overnight visits at Pyke's residence, as the boys and their families had an established relationship with the doctor," Hoeppner said.

"While two of the victims reported the molestation as an isolated incident, one disclosed an ongoing cycle which spanned from the age of 9 until he was 15. The most recent victim to come forward lives in Miami," said Hoeppner.

Because of the statute of limitations, Pyke was only charged in two of the cases, one of which was in Manatee County, she said. Pyke was convicted in the Seminole County case, while charges against him in Manatee County were dropped in February 2006.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that after the trial, Pyke indicated he was currently living in the Orlando-Sanford area, but planned to return to his home in Anna Maria.

As a convicted sex offender, Pyke is required to register his address with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. On May 14, he listed his address as 776 N. Shore Drive on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Web site for sexual offenders.

Pyke is prohibited from having contact with anyone under the age of 18, nor can he work as a volunteer around children or be where large groups of youngsters are present.

The victim and Pyke reached a settlement in a civil suit filed by the victim, but the terms were not disclosed, the Orlando Sentinel said.

 

Anna Maria arrest

Pyke was arrested on June 5, 2006, by Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputies at his Anna Maria residence and charged with lewd and lascivious molestation by a person 18 years of age, a first-degree felony with a maximum sentence, if convicted, of life imprisonment. Pyke entered a not guilty plea to the charge, which reportedly involved an Anna Maria youth.

But the Manatee County charge against Pyke was dropped on Feb. 27, 2007, to allow the Seminole case to proceed.

According to one woman involved in the Manatee County case, the molestation allegedly involved the son of a friend of Pyke's.

Information on Pyke can be found at the FDLE Web site at www.offender.fdle.state.fl.us.

According to the Manatee County property appraiser's office, the house at 776 N. Shore Drive is owned by Mark English, Dorothy English and Pyke. The house is listed for sale at $995,000.

The property is located just 500 feet north of a school bus stop on North Shore Drive used by Anna Maria Island Elementary School students.

Efforts to reach Pyke for comment were unsuccessful.

 

Hold that move

On Friday, May 18, Pyke's Anna Maria address was removed from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Web site for convicted sex offenders.

Instead, Pyke registered his address as 755 Lake Como Drive in Lake Mary, Fla. According to the Seminole County property appraisers office, that property is owned by Anna Nattalucci and is considered a rental unit.

The FDLE said that when a convicted sex offender posts an address with the department, that person must move to the address immediately or face a probation violation.

Efforts to reach the FDLE for comment on Pyke's correct permanent address were unsuccessful prior to press deadline on Monday.

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