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Youth leader accused of sexually assaulting teen

Posted at 7:28 PM, Feb 09, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-09 19:31:49-05

A youth leader accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy is out on bail tonight.

Edwin Wesley, 53, is facing charges he forced himself on a 17-year-old at a West Palm Beach apartment.

Wesley is now suspended from Gulfstream Goodwill Industries. It was there that he is a case manager in the youth offender re-entry program.

The staff is now reaching out to those children with which Wesley has had contact.

“We continue to look at every aspect of any possible wrongdoing internally and so far there's been nothing that's come up," said Brian Edwards, the vice president of marketing and development at Gulfstream Goodwill Industries.

It’s important to note, the 17-year-old he’s accused of assaulting is not in the Goodwill program.

Edwards says Wesley was hired in 2013. He says he passed all screenings and background checks.

Investigators say on Friday, Wesley picked up a teen from a court appearance  and told him he needed to take a urine test.

Detectives say Wesley took the teen to his West Palm Beach apartment and forced himself on the teen.

Gulfstream Goodwill says the news is devastating to the non-profit community and the safety of its clients come first.

“I can't even begin to express how serious we're taking that information for both our staff and most certainly the youth that was both in his care and youth he might have come in contact with,” said Edwards. 

Gulfstream Goodwill Industries describes Wesley as a well-respected employee with no complaints filed against him.