A 54-year-old Delray Beach man is facing false imprisonment and prostitution-related charges after police say one of two women who showed up at his home early Monday morning later reported that he had locked her friend in a room and wouldn't let her out. Lenard Eugene Bonner was arrested following calls of a disturbance at his home around 4:45 a.m., according to police.
Delray Beach police say two women arrived at Bonner's home about an hour earlier, at roughly 3:55 a.m., according to an affidavit cited by cbs12.com. The women told investigators that Bonner's demeanor shifted during the encounter, that he kept following them around the home, and that he would not let them leave.
One Woman Got Out, Then Got a Troubling Text
One of the two women managed to leave the home, the affidavit states, but she later received messages from her friend saying that Bonner had locked her in a room. The report notes that the alleged victim had known Bonner previously, though not in a sexual or dating context.
Police said Bonner had contacted the woman through a prostitution website and paid $270 for services before the situation escalated. Bonner, for his part, denied locking anyone in a room or preventing anyone from leaving, the affidavit shows — leaving police and Bonner's account of events directly at odds.
Charges Bonner Now Faces
Bonner was arrested and charged with false imprisonment and purchasing services of a prostitute, according to Delray Beach police. Under Florida Statute 787.02, false imprisonment is defined as forcibly, by threat, or secretly confining, abducting, imprisoning or restraining another person without lawful authority and against that person's will, and is classified as a third-degree felony under Florida law.
Separately, Florida Statute 796.07 defines prostitution as giving or receiving the body for sexual activity for hire, excluding activity between spouses, and makes purchasing the services of a person engaged in prostitution illegal. A first offense of that kind, other than soliciting or procuring another to commit prostitution, is generally charged as a second-degree misdemeanor under state statute.
The arrest adds to a string of recent prostitution-related cases in South Florida. In June, a woman was arrested at The Breakers Palm Beach after police said an undercover investigation led from the resort's HMF bar to a hotel room, and in July, seven women were arrested in a southwest Miami-Dade massage-parlor sting. It's unclear whether any of those cases are connected to Bonner's arrest.
