Janitor who is accused in sex case put on leave

The school district employee is charged with molesting two girls over a period of 23 years in incidents unrelated to his job.

LARGO - A Largo man was arrested last week on charges he sexually abused two young girls over the past 23 years. The victims are mother and daughter, and there may be additional victims, Pinellas sheriff's deputies said.

Horace M. Wallace, 64, was arrested Oct. 17 on three charges of sexual battery, two of them capital charges. He was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on Thursday in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Wallace is accused of abusing a woman who is now in her 30s during the early 1980s. He never was charged in connection with that abuse.

When the woman's daughter began acting strangely recently, the woman questioned her and the girl, who is now a teenager, indicated she had been abused by Wallace, deputies said.

The mother then called authorities. Detectives determined the daughter had been abused in 2000 and in August of this year, arrest reports state.

Detectives also believe there is a third young victim but will leave it up to prosecutors whether more charges should be filed.

Sheriff's officials said the investigation is continuing as they determine if there are more victims.

Wallace is employed by the Pinellas County School Board as a janitor in its administrative office in Largo. He cleans the offices at night.

The abuse had nothing to do with his job, sheriff's officials said.

School administrators have put Wallace on unpaid leave as they consider his employment status with the district.

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