Registered sex offender arrested on charges of sexually abusing boys

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — A registered sex offender was arrested in Osceola County after parents of two boys reported the boys were sexually battered by him, authorities said.

Robert Grafton, 63, was charged with 102 counts of sexual battery, 25 counts of lewd and lascivious battery and 30 counts of lewd and lascivious conduct.

The boys' parents said that several years ago, they lived in the same motel in Kissimmee that Grafton lived in. But the parents said they were unaware he was a sex offender.

Grafton would buy their children clothing, give them money and, most recently, bought them cellphones, detectives said.

The family said they were having financial problems and at one point lived with Grafton at his residence in St. Cloud.

The parents said they recently began noticing that their sons, ages 13 and 14, did not want to have contact with Grafton. A family friend told the parents Grafton may be a sex offender, so they verified the information and then contacted law enforcement.

Detectives said they spoke with the boys, who told them Grafton had been sexually abusing them since August 2012.

Grafton was brought in for questioning and cooperated with the investigation, authorities said.

Based on the victims' statements and Grafton's interview, he was arrested and booked into the Osceola County Jail.

"That is just really creepy, and we let him into our house," said one neighbor of the Graftons. "It was just really sad to me that he would do that to this family that he supposedly took in to take care of them."

Deputies said they aren't sure at which motel Grafton met the children. They said there's also no word on whether there were any other victims in the case.

Grafton served 15 years in prison in Pennsylvania for a similar crime, authorities said. He has been a registered sexual offender in Osceola County since February 2011.

WFTV