Exclusive: Sex Assault Victim Wonders Why Coach Wasn't Prosecuted Earlier
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) -- A well-known South Florida gymnastics instructor already in jail on child porn charges is accused of an even more disturbing crime -- sexually assaulting a child.
And there are serious questions about why the case -- which was first reported to Fort Lauderdale Police in 2004 -- did not result in an arrest more than a decade ago.
Carl Lechner is accused of sexually preying on a child for years beginning when the girl was just a few years old back in the late 90's. On Tuesday, the Broward Sheriff's Office charged Lechner with the sexual assault. However, Fort Lauderdale Police records show that the case was first brought to their attention in 2004 and that Fort Lauderdale Police closed the case with no charges being filed.
The victim's reaction: "I do feel like they dropped the ball," she said, of the Fort Lauderdale Police.
The victim said that at just 9-years old she told police in graphic detail about what Lechner did to her. The police report from 2004 says she described how he would take her to a private place in his house.
"Once in the room he would close the bedroom door and lock it," the 2004 report says. The report says the police wanted the victim to confront Lechner and get him to confess but she couldn't.
Related: Gymnastics Coach Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Girl
The detective at the time wrote, "…one reason she might not be willing to confront Lechner is that the allegations are not true."
The victim told CBS 4's Carey Codd she was just frightened.
"At one point during the investigation I was supposed to do something and confront him and I was unable to because I was too scared," she said.
The 2004 report says Lechner voluntarily spoke to detectives and denied sexually assaulting the little girl. Ultimately, the detective wrote, "Based on this Detective's investigation there is no evidence to substantiate the allegations. This case will be closed and exceptionally cleared."
The victim couldn't believe it.
"They suspected I was lying," she said. "After that it didn't really nag at me so much as I was just angry."
BSO arrested Lechner -- a children's gymnastics coach in Broward and Jupiter for years -- in late July for possessing child pornography. That arrest led to the victim in the 2004 case and new charges being filed against Lechner on Tuesday. He is being held in jail without bond.
"The thing that bothered me was that there was a chance someone else might have been hurt the way that I was and I tried my best to help and I wasn't allowed or able to," she said.
The victim said the news of Lechner's arrest was a long time in the making.
"It's just something that I've tried to get away from for 12 years now so it seems belated but I'm relieved and I'm really grateful to the detectives that are on the case currently," she said.
In the BSO report from Tuesday, a detective writes that the victim's story remained the same from 2004 to 2015. Also, back in 2004 the Fort Lauderdale Police Department did not turn over the case to the Broward State Attorney's Office for review.
CBS 4 News asked Fort Lauderdale Police whether the 2004 case was handled properly by the detective. A police spokesman said they have nothing to hide and investigators are going to review the entire case file to answer that question. CBS4 is told that the detective who originally worked the 2004 case remains on the force although he works in a different unit.
The victim said she wishes that the detective in 2004 realized that the words and details she provided regarding the sexual activity was highly unusual for a child of her age.
"If any child does come forward and say something like that and can describe what happened the way that I did when I was little, I think that if nothing else they should find out how that child even knows something like that," she said. "Something had to have happened."
