ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – An 18-year-old man accused of rape and held on no bond in the Orange County jail is believed to have additional victims “who have been too afraid to come forward,” the sheriff’s office said Friday.
Rafael O’Reilly Lerner faces charges of false imprisonment, two counts of sexual battery of a victim younger than 18 by a defendant 18 or older, two counts of sexual battery of a victim younger than 18 by a defendant younger than 18, and four counts each of battery and battery by strangulation, records show.
In a statement, the sheriff’s office shared news of O’Reilly Lerner’s arrest, describing his alleged methods as “emotionally and physically brutal.”
“He ingratiates himself to young women, coerces them into sex, becomes extremely violent and videotapes and photographs his victims during sex. Then he threatens them with exposing those videos and photos publicly and to their parents,” the statement reads. “Our detectives believe he’s a predator, and that this behavior has been going on for some time and escalated over time. We are asking anyone who has had any kind of concerning interactions with O’Reilly Lerner to come forward.”
At O’Reilly Lerner’s first appearance in court on Wednesday, a judge gave him no bond pursuant to the charges of sexual battery and ordered that he not contact victims and witnesses, as well as that he is forbidden to use the internet and cannot possess any weapons or firearms.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to call the sheriff’s office’s non-emergency line at 407-836-HELP (4357) to speak with a detective on the matter.