Ex-Miami-Dade Police Officer Gets Life in Prison for Molesting Young Girls – NBC 6 South Florida

A former Miami-Dade Police officer charging with molesting multiple girls was sentenced to life in prison Friday.

Braulio Gonzalez, 48, was given the life sentence by Miami-Dade Judge Miguel De La O at a hearing, where the two victims spoke about their ordeal.

“I will forever have this scar that you imprinted on me,” one of the victims told Gonzalez.

The allegations against Gonzalez first surfaced in 2018. Prosecutors said Gonzalez molested one girl for two years, from the time she was eight until she turned ten.

That victim told detectives that Gonzalez would wake her up to molest her and once he held a gun to her head. He allegedly threatened the victim by saying he would kill her and anyone else in the house if she didn’t comply with his demands.

A jury had taken just 15 minutes to convict Gonzalez on lewd and lascivious molestation and armed kidnapping charges.

“There’ll be no closure here, you’ll go to prison and they’ll continue to live with it, I hope they’re able to overcome it,” De La O said.

Gonzalez’s defense lawyer, Bruce Lehr, had asked for a 25-year sentence, noting that he was a dedicated officer who saved multiple lives during his time on the force. His wife of four years also testified on his behalf during the trial, along with two police officers.

Prosecutors argued that Gonzalez lived a double life.

“Behind the scenes, he was very violent,” prosecutor Natalie Snyder said. “He’s a very dangerous person.”