The Palm Beach Post

Man accused of raping 11-year-old girl

March 5th, 2009 by Ana X. Ceron

A Golden Gate man faces charges of raping a child after the 11-year-old girl reported the alleged abuse to her family.

Leroius W. Thal

Leroius W. Thal


On Tuesday authorities added two counts of sexual battery on a child to the initial sexual battery felony charge that landed Leroius Thal behind bars on Feb. 6.

Thal, 40, is being held without bond at the Martin County jail.

In August, the girl told Martin County Sheriff’s investigators that Thal had forced himself on her during several encounters that began last June.

She said that in the first incident she was sleeping over at his house when she awoke to find him looming over her. When he finished, he told her not to tell anyone, the girl said.

The girl said she did end up telling one of Thal’s children, but his daughter didn’t believe her. Later, she told a friend’s older sister, who then reported the allegation to the 11-year-old girl’s mother.

A Martin County Sheriff’s detective tried to meet with Thal, of the 3100 block of Southeast Ellendale Street, on Aug. 14 but could not find him at work or at home. His wife would not tell authorities where they could find Thal, according to court records.

Authorities obtained a warrant for Thal’s arrest and he was booked into the Martin County jail on Feb. 6.

He was found in New York after customs authorities detained him when he tried to reenter the United States from Canada, sheriff’s officials said.

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One Response to “Man accused of raping 11-year-old girl”

  1. K-HICKMAN Says:

    I think he scum and i hope they lock his a…ss up for the rest of his d…am life.I Don’t understand why he would have sex with child he must be sick in the head.and his stupid wife must have knew what he was doing trying to protect his nasty a…ss.

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