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Leonard Filipkowski drove what police describe as “a predator’s paradise” — a giant, colorfully painted van with darkened windows and a sophisticated system of flat screen TVs and video games installed in the back. Filipkowski has now been charged with 20 counts of counts lewd and lascivious acts involving children.
“This suspect, Leonard Filipkowski, is our worst nightmare,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd in a statement. “He has no criminal record, no history of abusing children, and a business that caters to children. His van is a predator’s paradise. We are asking parents to talk to their children and let us know as soon as possible if there are any more children out there who have been victimized by this predator.”
Games2U is a company that offers entertainment at children’s events. Franchisees are provided with a van and trailer that are equipped with “mind-blowing Video Game Theaters and 4D Ride Experiences; high-tech Laser Tag; giant-sized, kid-driven U-Bots; life-size Hamster Balls and so much more.”
Filipkowski, a resident of Lakeland, Florida, operated a Games2U franchise in Central Florida.
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The Polk County Sheriff’s special victims detectives began investigating when they got a tip from on out-of-state social service office. A boy, who had since moved from Florida, was undergoing counseling after being molested in the back of the van in 2010 when he was 13-years-old.
Filipkowski was arrested and admitted to giving the boy alcohol and then performing sex acts on him in the back of the van. He also admitted to molesting a boy who was 13 or 14-years-old three years ago at his home. The boy had occasionally worked with Filipkowski in the van.
After interviewing the victims, detectives charged the man with nine counts lewd and lascivious molestation on a victim under 16, and 11 counts lewd and lascivious exhibition in the presence of a child.
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