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Burglar enlisted kids, says deputy

Four children were sworn to secrecy by the adult organizer, then one was slipped through a small window, reports state.

By JAMAL THALJI
Published January 11, 2006

DADE CITY - Authorities say Tony Drayton took four children on an adventure Saturday: to rob a neighbor's house.

Not only did the 21-year-old Dade City man organize and lead the scheme to steal $4,000 in gold and electronics, authorities say, but he slipped an 8-year-old boy inside through a small window to open the doors and used the others as lookouts.

Afterward, the children said he swore them to secrecy, having them sign a contract.

The note stated: "Do you swear to uphold this secret as long as you shall live, never to tell anyone of our caper."

"It's kind of shocking for someone to use children," said the victim, Sarah Webber.

Drayton's criminal record starts with a 1997 arrest on a burglary charge. He was 13.

Five years later, a court declared him a sexual offender. He got out of prison in July.

He was back behind bars Tuesday, held in the Pasco County jail in lieu of $35,250 bail.

Drayton has been charged with four counts of child abuse, burglary, grand theft, resisting arrest without violence and failure to register as a sexual offender. The case has been referred to the State Attorney's Office, so he could still face more charges.

Adults enlisting children to commit crimes is not unheard of, said Pasco sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin. "It's the exception rather than the rule," he said.

None of the children, a 14-year-old girl and boys ages 13, 10 and 8, were identified or charged by the Pasco Sheriff's Office.

"One, they're witnesses and two, they're also victims to the child abuse," Tobin said.

Nor does the agency have any information, Tobin said, that the children were the victims of any lewd behavior. Drayton pleaded no contest to lewd and lascivious battery for molesting an 11-year-old in 2002. That and a 2003 burglary arrest resulted in a two-year, two-month prison sentence.

This latest incident took place between 11 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. Saturday, according to sheriff's reports. When Webber and her twin 13-year-old boys returned to their Davis Loop home, they found dirt and leaves in the bathtub and family jewelry, video games, DVDs, CDs and a BB gun missing.

"It was more of a shock to my children, because it was stuff they had mainly bought for themselves with money they had worked for," said Webber, whose wedding ring and jewelry is still missing.

Only someone small, or really thin, could have slipped through the 1- by 1-foot bathroom window, she said, but the window is at adult eye level. Could a child have gotten through it?

"He would have had to have fallen into the tub," she said.

Later, one of Webber's sons went to question the kids who authorities say were involved. When her son left, an uncle began questioning his nephews about the alleged burglary and soon learned all the details.

"It was that act that unraveled this whole case," Tobin said.

The uncle, who was also not identified, returned a few of the missing items to Webber.

After questioning the children, the deputies on Monday went to find Drayton at his girlfriend's home at 15135 Davis Loop. He slammed the door and tried to flee out the back, the report said, before deputies captured him.

A minor inside his girlfriend's residence led deputies to the signed contract inside Drayton's dresser, the report said. Deputies said they found many of the stolen items inside the home.

After he was read his rights, the report said, Drayton told them "it was his word against theirs." He said the children had given him the items. He said he couldn't register as a sexual offender because he had no address and no money to pay for an ID card. He also denied ownership of the note.

"He stated it was not his," the report said, "and that his name was not on it."

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

[Last modified January 11, 2006, 01:05:18]