Ex-Miami-Dade police lieutenant convicted of molesting young girls. Jury took 15 minutes

A jury on Thursday deliberated just 15 minutes before convicting a former Miami-Dade police lieutenant of molesting two young girls.

Braulio Gonzalez was convicted of armed kidnapping and multiple counts of lewd and lascivious molestation.

Miami-Dade police first arrested Gonzalez in September 2018, after a girl who was known to him told a psychologist that he fondled her several times when she was between 8 and 10 years old. She also told a Florida Department of Children & Families interviewer that the first time Gonzalez fondled her, he pointed a gun at her head and threatened to kill a relative.

Another girl also told investigators about her own molestation. Both testified at this week’s trial.

Gonzalez had been jailed since 2019, and he’ll remain behind bars to await sentencing. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Miguel de la O will sentence him in the coming weeks.

The ex-cop faces a minimum of 25 years in prison, and almost 48 years at the bottom of sentencing guidelines.

The former cop was prosecuted by assistant state attorneys Natalie Snyder and Khalil Madani. At trial, his defense argued that the molestation never happened.

His defense lawyer, Bruce Lehr, said Gonzalez plans to appeal. “My client maintains his innocence and did throughout this whole ordeal,” Lehr said.

Gonzalez was a Miami-Dade police officer since 1999 and before his arrest he was assigned to the Special Response Team, which handles hostage situations, warrants and dangerous fugitive searches.

He’d been allowed to keep his job despite multiple allegations that he’d repeatedly beaten and abused his former lovers, according to internal police files. Miami-Dade police cleared him of those allegations.

This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 4:00 PM.