Construction worker accused of kidnapping woman with disability

By Rachael Perry

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    BOYNTON BEACH, Florida (WPBF) — A construction worker is accused of kidnapping a woman with an intellectual disability in Boynton Beach.

Alvin Gayle, 71, has been formally charged with kidnapping with the intent of committing sexual battery after a 24-year-old woman with an intellectual disability was reported missing.

According to court records, the victim’s uncle checked the home’s ring doorbell and saw his niece enter a silver SUV with an unknown man. The victim’s uncle ran home and confirmed the woman was gone before calling 911. He told police his niece has “the mental capacity of a 5-year-old.”

Police responded to the report of a possible abduction near South Seacrest Boulevard and found the woman had left with the man in the SUV. The victim’s uncle told police his neighbor’s camera caught the same man on video wearing a faded fluorescent traffic vest as he picked up a cooler from a nearby construction site and loaded it into the SUV.

Police immediately began canvasing the area and noticed the construction crew working directly outside the victim’s home. According to court records, the workers told officers they saw their colleague, identified as Alvin Gayle, talking to the victim. They also provided officers with Gayle’s phone number.

According to the probable cause statement, officers called Gayle, who told them he was at a doctor’s appointment in West Palm Beach. They asked if he was accompanied by the victim, to which Gayle stated that the victim approached his door and asked him if he could get her some food. Gayle then stated that he would take the victim to get food after the doctor.

Officers called the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, who responded to Cano Health, where they met with Gayle and the victim.

According to court records, officers spoke to Gayle on the phone and explained that the victim had “the mental capacity of a child, which caused her family members grave concern for her safety.” The officers then requested for Gayle to meet with them at the BBPD, which he voluntarily agreed to do.

The victim was taken to the BBPD while Gayle followed behind.

Boynton Beach police interviewed the victim, who reportedly stated that she was standing near the sidewalk when Gayle began speaking to her. She said Gayle was being nice and asked her if she had a boyfriend. The victim stated that she had a boyfriend, to which Gayle then told her that he wanted to be her boyfriend also.

The victim told officers Gayle offered to take her to get some food but that they would have to go to his doctor first. The victim got into Gayle’s vehicle where, during the ride, she said

Gayle asked her if she had sex with her boyfriend and if she would have sex with him. The victim reported that Gayle touched her face and leg, hugged her, and then kissed her on the lips.

According to the probable cause statement, “The victim stated that Gayle also asked her to come to his house. Furthermore, Gayle informed the victim that he wanted her to stay with him for the next two days. The victim stated that she asked Gayle to bring her back home, however, he said no.”

During the interview with the victim, the reporting officer noted that it was immediately apparent that the victim had a developmental disability.

When police interviewed Gayle, court records show he immediately denied the allegations. Gayle reportedly told officers he was working at a construction site directly across from the victim’s apartment complex. He said that while seated in his work truck, the victim approached him and asked him to take her to get food. He said he would take her if they went to his doctor’s appointment first.

According to court records, the victim gathered her belongings and got inside Gayles’ SUV. Officers asked him if the two had talked about the victim’s potential boyfriend during the drive, and Gayle confirmed they did. Gayle was asked if there was any discussion about sex, and he immediately denied it. However, police report Gayle later admitted to asking the victim when she last had sex.

The reporting officer writes, “Gayle denied having any physical touch with the victim, but later stated that she grabbed his hands and they interlocked fingers, which he stated felt ‘good.’ Gayle stated that he was not attracted to the victim, but he would have sex with her should she be willing.”

According to court records, Gayle admitted that he has had sex with “slow females” in the past and stated that he wasn’t sure how old the victim was as she did not appear or act to be 24 years old.

The reporting officer said after telling Gayle about the victim’s mental capacity, he admitted that he realized she did in fact display those characteristics. He then reportedly stated that if he had known her mental capacity from the beginning, he would have never taken her in his vehicle.

Detectives determined Gayle intended to have sex with the victim, knowing her disability.

WPBF spoke with Julie Weil, the founder of the Not Just Me Foundation. Weil has dedicated her career to advocating and helping victims of sexual violence. She also works closely with Palm Beach County Victim Services.

“People in the disabled community are definitely more vulnerable to instances of sexual assault, sexual violence, because a lot of times they are the more vulnerable people in society, and people prey on that,” Weil explained.

She said that can be for a few different reasons.

“They [predators] think that people won’t report, that people with disabilities won’t be able to easily communicate with advocates or get to an advocacy center, or people won’t believe them,” Weil said.

Weil said Palm Beach County Victim Services has been working hard to ensure they’re offering support to anyone in need of it.

“We have some of the best services in the whole state. Palm Beach County Victim Services works with the Center for Independent Living Options, CILO, and other outreach organizations in our community to provide services to the disabled and to all the vulnerable populations in the county,” she said.

On the same topic, Weil said it’s unfortunate that they’ve seen cases where caregivers are the ones preying on the victim.

“Sometimes those are the people who are preying on the disability community. So if you’re relying on people for help, to be able to have a voice and to get out there and to notify people, if that person is one of the abusers, it becomes essential that you stay quiet if you want to continue your care,” she explained. “And we just want to let people know that we are here. We believe you. We can communicate with you. We are happy to do whatever it takes in order to make the process easier for you.”

Weil said their research shows roughly 500 victims of sexually related violence sought out services in Palm Beach County in 2024. She said it’s a sharp reminder that predators exist in every community.

“They exist in quantities much greater than we realize,” Weil added. “That’s hard to say because you don’t want people to be scared, but you also want people to know that they’re not alone, that unfortunately, this happens.”

She said that’s why Victim Services exists and offers the services they do.

“From the beginning, from the first attack, we have a forensic exam center you can go to to have the evidence collected, to be interviewed by a police officer in a comfortable setting where it’s taped, both video and audio, so you don’t have to go to the police station, and you don’t have to do a lot of the things that people feel make reporting uncomfortable,” Weil said.

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