A 38-year-old Palm Coast man is in custody following a 17-month investigation into allegations that he sexually abused two young girls on multiple occasions, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Joseph Spector was apprehended on July 25 after Major Case Unit detectives and Community Policing Division deputies located him at a restaurant in Bunnell. He was arrested without incident on two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation and transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he remains held on a $150,000 bond.
Authorities said the inquiry began in February 2025 when the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) received a report alleging Spector had inappropriately touched a minor. A DCF investigator worked alongside an FCSO school resource deputy to interview the victim at her school. During that meeting, the girl stated that Spector had inappropriately touched her breast during an incident in 2022.
In a later interview with the First Coast Child Protection Team, the victim provided additional details, telling investigators that Spector had shown her pornographic material, provided her with alcohol, and routinely subjected her to sexual abuse during frequent “cuddling sessions” multiple times a week.
She also stated that Spector had abused her sister in the same manner. When interviewed separately, the second victim confirmed that the same encounters took place and described another incident in which Spector masturbated next to her.
As the case progressed, the FCSO Major Case Unit conducted a covert operation in April 2025. During that operation, Spector stated that while he might not remember everything that occurred, he was sorry.
Detectives interviewed Spector again in April 2026, at which point he denied the allegations. When investigators confronted him with the statements he made during the covert operation, Spector said he did not recall making them, adding, “I don’t remember, and if it happened, I was drunk.”
“I commend those two brave victims, as this investigation never would have happened without their courage to speak up and come forward with what this pervert did to them,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement. “From there, this case showed excellent teamwork between our Major Case Unit, the school resource deputy who took the initial report, deputies who assisted in the apprehension, and our partners at the Florida Department of Children and Families during the entire investigation to put this pervert behind bars and held accountable. I hope he goes to prison for a long time.”
Sheriff Staly urged anyone who is a victim of child sexual abuse, or who knows someone who may be in Flagler County, to report it by calling the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office at 386-313-4911. Reports can also be submitted directly to the Department of Children and Families Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873 or online at reportabuse.myflfamilies.com.
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