A 20-year-old Bunnell man was arrested at PortMiami on Monday after DNA evidence tied him to the alleged sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl in Flagler County, more than a year and a half after she first reported it. William Nikolas Moraitis now faces a charge of lewd or lascivious battery involving a victim who was at least 12 but younger than 16, and he's being held on a $50,000 bond while he awaits extradition back to Flagler County.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers took Moraitis into custody at the port, according to WFTV. The arrest came after detectives obtained a warrant on Oct. 12, closing out an investigation that began when the girl reported the alleged assault to a school resource deputy on April 8, 2025, as reported by WESH.
What Investigators Say Happened That Night
According to WFTV's reporting, investigators determined Moraitis left his Bunnell home at 12:45 a.m. on April 8, 2025, arrived at the girl's residence at 1:07 a.m., and left about 22 minutes later. The outlet reports that Moraitis entered her home through a window despite her refusal to let him come over, and that he went to her home even though she had told him she did not want to have sex.
The girl told investigators she saw a handgun in his waistband and felt compelled to let him inside, though he did not brandish it, per WFTV's account. That detail has not been independently corroborated beyond the news reports describing it.
Text Messages and the DNA Trail
Investigators say text messages from August 2024 showed Moraitis already knew the girl's age. When she told him she was turning 15, he reportedly responded that he was too old for her and would turn 18 in 12 days, according to the same WFTV report.
The case hinged on forensic testing. News4JAX reports that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed in November 2025 that DNA found on the teen belonged to Moraitis, a finding deputies say ultimately linked him to the case nearly a year and a half after the initial report.
The Charge and What Florida Law Says
Moraitis faces a charge of lewd or lascivious battery, which Florida Statute 800.04 defines in part as engaging in sexual activity with someone at least 12 but younger than 16. Under that statute, a victim's consent is not a defense, and neither is a defendant's claimed ignorance of the victim's age, the victim's own misrepresentation of her age, or a bona fide belief about her age. The law generally classifies the offense as a second-degree felony, with exceptions for specified circumstances.
Moraitis remains held at the Miami-Dade County Jail on the $50,000 bond as he awaits transfer back to Flagler County to face the charge.
