A Jacksonville man befriended a boy at church. Then he sexually abused him, cops say.
A Jacksonville man who runs a program to help homeless people has been accused of sexually abusing an underage boy.
Michael Linkenauger, 41, was arrested Thursday and charged with sexual battery and lewd or lascivious exhibition as well as conduct of a victim less than 16 years of age, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
The boy alleges Linkenauger forced him to have anal and oral sex “on more occasions than [he] can count,” the arrest report says. Linkenauger told him that “he thought it would be fun” after their first encounter.
Deputies say Linkenauger befriended the accuser at church in 2016. The arrest report did not name the church.
As the two became close, they began having sleepovers between August 2017 and July 2018. The abuse began some time after that July and ended in June 2019, according to the report.
When the accuser’s mother confronted Linkenauger about the abuse, he apologized, saying, “He had fantasies about being with boys ever since he was a boy,” the report says.
That wasn’t all.
“The suspect also told [the victim’s] mother that he was about to lose everything and he had done things a lot worse than what he had done to [the victim],” the deputy wrote.
Court records show Linkenauger is being held at a jail in Duval County on $400,000 bond.
According to their website, Linkenauger and his wife run the “Hot Dogs for Hope Ministry,” which provides food, clothes and other essential items to downtown Jacksonville’s homeless population.
“We both have a challenging past that has prepared us and shaped us for the type of work and ministry God has called us into,” their website states.
JSO detectives believe there might be other victims. Anyone with information should contact 904-630-0500.
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 6:15 PM.
