JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For the first time since Roy Bay set off a firestorm Jan. 12 when he spoke to Jacksonville City Council about including protections for sexual orientation in the city's human rights ordinance, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and a friend is making a statement.
Bay stood up in front of the City Council and admitted to molesting children earlier in his life. That statement has launched a criminal investigation, but Bay has not been arrested and so far according to sources, no potential victims have come forward.
“You can't stand up in the public and say you've done those kinds of things and expect that to be ignored,” Sheriff Mike Williams said. “And it won't be ignored here.”
Kevin Sapp, a former coworker of Bay's is coming forward, sharing how surprised he was about hearing his friend's story on the news. Sapp said he just can't believe any of this. He says they worked together at a Westside car dealership for many years and that none of these latest claims ever came up in conversation.
“Roy is a good friend of mine,” Sapp said. “I've been knowing Roy for the past 20 years. This here sounds like it's truly out of character for Roy to say these things.”
Sapp said he used to work with Bay at a car dealership from 2005 to 2010. He said they were friends and when he heard hos former co-worker make this statement on the news, he was in complete shock.
“We’ve been hanging out in the car a lot here and this never came up about his past. He never mentioned it to us. We've had intimate conversations and it never came up that this happened to him. He always talked about that he had a good life when he came from Missouri. It never came up,” Sapp said.
On Tuesday, Bay spoke at length with News4Jax about sexually assaulting children in both Missouri and Florida after being assaulted himself by his adoptive father.
Bay claims he is reformed now, and married.
Over the past week, Jacksonville police have sent out photos of what Bay looked like 30 years ago, asking for any victims to come forward. No one has responded.
"Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has been investigating me and I've been cooperating with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office fully. Anytime they come to my house, I do not avoid them," Bay said.
Williams confirmed that his officers were looking into Bay's claims and his background.
"I know we've reached out to St. Louis; we've talked to him. ... So I'm not sure where this will go, but it's something we're focused on,” Williams said.
News4Jax consulted a forensic psychologist, who after reviewing Bay's interview, said it's hard to tell if he's being truthful about his past, or whether he had been abused.
"It is not unusual for someone to wait this long to bring up something that has happened in the past, such as abuse or even being an abuser. However the format and platform of doing such is unusual," Dr. Justin D'Arienzo said.
D'Arienzo hasn't evaluated Bay, only watched the interview.
"It does increase the risk if you have been abused, then it is a risk factor that you will be a perpetrator yourself. However most people that have been abused do not offend the same way," D'Arienzo said.
D'Arienzo said people can suppress bad memories and they also can be reformed.
"Based on his demeanor, it seems that he has come to terms with this, and some people do find religion when things like this have happened to them and they have been abusers," D'Arienzo said. "And we know that about 75 percent of people that do receive treatment do not reoffend either."
Bay made it clear in the interview he's a born-again Christian and is not dangerous. He said he only admitted to his past crimes because he wanted to warn other people and speak out against changes to the HRO.
Bay said his public remarks have made him look like a monster, and he's been in hiding and has lost his two jobs. He hopes people can forgive him.
Bay said the man who abused him was never charged with any crime and died a few years ago. Bay said he took out a restraining order to get away from the man. We've checked court records and have not yet found evidence of that injunction.