A South Florida attorney who made a national name for himself representing victims of child sexual abuse has been arrested with thousands of child pornography stashed on his computer.
Michael T. Dolce, 53, received national recognition for his work ending the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases in the Sunshine State and was eventually named one of America’s 500 Leading Attorneys for his work defending child sexual abuse victims .
He has spoken publicly about the abuse he faced as a 7-year-old child at the hands of a neighbor and told of how he hoped the children would “spare the walks I had to take”, even creating the Committee to Protect Our Children First.
But Dolce’s reputation crumbled after his arrest on March 15, when FBI agents found nearly 2,000 photos and five videos of child pornography stored on his laptop.
He now remains behind bars awaiting his trial, which is scheduled for mid-April. If convicted on charges of possession of child pornography, Dolce could face up to 20 years in prison.
Michael T. Dolce, 53, was arrested March 15 on child pornography charges
FBI agents found nearly 2,000 photos and five videos of child porn stored on his laptop.
Federal authorities obtained three search warrants to look into Dolce’s car and apartment in West Palm Beach
Federal authorities executed three search warrants on Dolce’s car and apartment in West Palm Beach, Florida on March 15.
“The entry to the residence occurred as a result of a violent breach at the door when Dolce failed to respond to orders from law enforcement to report to the door,” a federal complaint states.
It continued, “Tactical surveillance and entry teams revealed that Dolce was home alone, awake on a bed at the time FBI personnel first knocked and announced at his door.”
When FBI agents finally cracked the matter, the complaint says, they found a Samsung laptop “sitting right next to Dolce on the bed” that was actively downloading child pornography.
The authorities also found several open windows on the laptop that contained or led them to illegal substances.
A subfolder titled “Sweetheart” featured an additional subfolder titled “Sweet-Pedo Stars,” which featured child sexual images and pornography of prepubescent female minor victims with the added watermark “PEDO STARs.” “
A digital forensic team later reviewed the Samsung laptop, and “as of 3/24/23, FBI personnel have identified 1,997 images and five videos of child pornography based on the known hash values of the identified child pornography.” pre.”
Federal authorities say Dolce was using BitTorrent to download photos and videos of female victims ages 5 to 8, 6 to 10 and 9 to 11.
After prosecutors requested remand at a hearing Thursday, Dolce turned over the law and crime reports, but reserved the right to revisit the matter later.
It remains unclear how federal authorities were able to track down Dolce.
Dolce has spoken out publicly about being a victim of child sexual abuse himself, and has led efforts to overturn Florida’s sexual offenses statute of limitations.
Dolce earned his law degree in 1994 from Stetson University School of Law in Gulfport, Florida, according to his LinkedIn profile, which says he is a “highly regarded attorney and political activist.”
But he first made a name for himself 10 years later, when he came forward as a child sexual abuse survivor and testified before the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee in an effort to overturn all statutes of limitations for civil and criminal prosecution of child sexual abuse.
He claimed to have been molested by a neighbor at the age of seven, and said that by the time he mustered up the courage to speak out, he could not pursue a lawsuit because the statute of limitations had passed.
“The law was protecting predators,” Dolce said in a video clip after the state legislature voted to repeal the statue of restraints. They are encouraged by law to silence and threaten their victims.
In a 2009 interview, Dolce said he had been working to ensure that other victims of child sexual abuse and adult sexual abuse could bring their cases against their abusers, noting: ‘Offenders most of the time have more than one victim, dozens and dozens of victims. “
He also said in this video that he had worked within the Florida State Legislature for five years, but was being challenged by the Catholic Church to remove the statute of limitations — although he noted that he had been teaching Sunday school at a local church for 14 years.
In a 2009 interview, Dolce said he was working to ensure that victims of other child sexual abuse and adult sexual abuse could bring their cases against their abusers.
After his victory, Dolce set up his own law firm, Dolce and Paruas, in 2012, and worked there until 2015, when he landed a position at Cohen Milstead, a large law firm with six offices across the country.
There, he led the sexual assault, sex trafficking, and domestic assault corporate team.
A now-deleted profile on Cohen-Milstead’s website claims he “brings to his work the insight and commitment of a survivor, having himself been the victim of sexual abuse as a young boy by a sadistic predator.”
He also notes that he has been named to Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America, has been named to America’s Best Lawyers and received the Daily Business Review’s 2019 Innovative Practice Areas Award.
Dolce set up his law firm Dolce and Paruas in 2012, and worked there until 2015, when he landed a position with Cohen Milstead.
He has received awards for his work from the National Center for Victims of Crime, the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, and the Florida Justice League; and “CNN relied on him as an expert for investigative reporting on sex crime investigations.”
In his spare time, Dolce is a Fellow of the US Litigation Counsel, served on the Board of Directors of the Florida Council on Combating Sexual Violence from 2011 through 2018 and was a member of the Sexual Violence Focus Group at the Florida State Courts Office. Administrative in 2015.
He even founded his own political committee called Protect Our Kids First Inc.
When asked about the most challenging part of his job in 2017, Dolce said it was “dealing with people who don’t want to look at the reality of what child abuse survivors really go through.”
“It’s such an ugly case that no one wants to even think about,” he said in an interview with Daily business review on time.
People worry about their children, but they don’t want to look at the reality of what happens to the child — or even adults for that matter.
You cannot X-ray these injuries. You cannot scan it with an MRI. But you have to make people understand the depth of these injuries.
He added, ‘His first hope always remains that I save the children from the walks I have had to take.
“I believe we will achieve this by continuing to make organizations safer and by continuing to hold accountable violators who might otherwise repeat their crimes.”
During his time at Cohen-Milstead, Dolce has been known to secure large settlements for his clients, including a $4.6 million deal in 2019 on behalf of an adult plaintiff who alleged his father sexually abused him throughout his childhood.
He was working on a case involving a female client who alleged she was coerced into having sex with three people while drunk and stumbled upon magic mushrooms at the time of his arrest, Miami New Times reports.
Two weeks ago, the opposing attorney had noticed that Dolce had suddenly disappeared from the case, but they didn’t know why until Dolce’s arrest came to light on March 29.
In a statement, Cohen-Milstead executives said “the company is stunned and saddened by these horrific allegations,” noting Dolce’s firing.
“We focus on meeting the needs of our customers and employees, and continue to cooperate fully with the investigation.”
Meanwhile, congregation leaders at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in West Palm Beach reportedly told Dolce — who served on the church’s board of directors — not to attend or participate in church events until further notice, according to Palm Beach Post.
