Bonita Springs man sentenced to life in prison for molesting young child

A Bonita Springs man was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for sexually abusing a child younger than 12 for multiple years.

According to the State Attorney’s Office, 60-year-old Stephen Craig Ford was adjudicated guilty and sentenced to life for sexual battery on a child less than 12 years of age, and sentenced to another concurrent life sentence for lewd or lascivious molestation. Ford was also designated a sexual predator. He was convicted in March following a Lee County trial.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation in October 2020 when a child victim told their friend about a past sex crime committed against them by Ford. That conversation, during a sports practice, was overheard by a family member of the victim, who told an adult, who then contacted LCSO.

Information gathered during the investigation found that Ford molested the child multiple times between September 2014 and September 2020 in Lee County. Ford was then arrested for the
crimes.