A day after a federal judge sentencedDuane Sikes to 10 years in prison for embezzling millions of dollars from VyStar Credit Union, a clear picture has emerged as to why the judge chose to upgrade his sentence after testimony alleging child pornography was also brought up in court.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office reports obtained by WJCT News partner News4Jax reveal officers were called multiple times to investigate Sikes on child pornography complaints starting nearly 10 years ago.
The calls to JSO concerning Sikes date back to 2010 from various people who said Sikes was routinely inviting young boys over to his house to swim in his pool and was either photographing them nude or exchanging sex for money, drugs or alcohol. The reports also accused Sikes of intimidating the minors to keep them quiet.
Three men who testified in federal court Thursday and Monday echoed what was in the reports, saying they were sexually abused by Sikes at his home when they were between 13 and 17 years old.
Sikes, 65, never directly responded to the accusations during his two-day sentencing hearing, but denied any wrongdoing through his lawyer. He has not been charged with crimes related to child pornography or child molestation.
An expanded version of this story is at News4Jax.com.
