Detectives have interviewed another alleged foreign exchange student victim and collected evidence that shows sexual battery suspect Bruce McAllister was a staff member at the Hernando Christian Academy, according to Brooksville Police.

  • School's statement said McAllister was not school employee
  • Detectives recovered school identification for McAllister
  • Police now interviewing fourth victim

An attorney for the school released a statement on Thursday that said no Hernando Christian Academy employees have been implicated. However, Brooksville Police Chief George Turner said detectives recovered school identification that indicates McAllister was a staff member for international students.

"There's some conflicting reports of whether he was actually employed in the school or not, but we do have an identification card saying he was a staff member," said Turner. "So, as far as we know he did have access to other children and people as a staff member."  

Police said McAllister preyed on teenage boys in a foreign exchange program at the Hernando Christian Academy, where his wife, Cathy McAllister, is a principal. The McAllisters began hosting international students at their home in a gated community back in 2006, according to police.

Turner said that's the same year the first victim stayed with the family. McAllister is not being charged for any crime connected to that individual, however, because the statute of limitations ran out four years later.

"We did take a statement from that individual, who's now in his 20's, but that unfortunately the statute of limitations has run on that case," he said. "We can't pursue that, but it obviously goes to course of conduct. So, we'll make it part of this investigation."

Newly filed court documents reveal new information about what detectives said happened to the other two victims. A 17-year-old boy from France said McAllister sexually abused him between Aug. 2016 and Jan. 2017. The teen told detectives that after he joined the high school football team, McAllister claimed he was a sports medicine specialist and could help him perform better as an athlete by sexually massaging his body, according to the report.

The French victim told detectives that McAllister provided alcoholic drinks to him and another 17-year-old Italian student staying at the home located at Cappleman Loop in Brooksville. The student from Italy provided a similar of joining the football team and working out in the gym with McAllister.

The victim said he felt uncomfortable after a few massages in the home and told McAllister to stop.

"This is pretty disgusting contact," said Turner. "We do have a fourth victim now that we're interviewing. We have not charged anything."

McAllister was arrested on Thursday on five sexual battery counts for the French victim and 24 counts of sexual battery for the Italian victim. McAllister posted a $77,000 bond and was released from the Hernando County Jail Thursday night.

Turner said they don't want to name the foreign exchange student companies that worked with the Hernando Christian Academy because they're cooperating with police.

"Obviously, they are concerned as we are," he said. "We've been given numerous other names of other interchange students that we now have to track down in the countries where they're from, Spain, Germany. So, it's going to take a little bit of time."

We asked the school's attorney to clarify McAllister's exact position with the Hernando Christian Academy, but did not hear anything back by our publishing deadline.