The adult son of a prominent restaurant owner in Ocala was arrested Tuesday on charges of sexual battery and lewd and lascivious behavior on a minor. A warrant was issued with a $35,000 bail, which had not been posted as of Wednesday afternoon.
According to an arrest report, Ronald “Ronnie” Scott Fernandez Jr., 27, met the victim, who was 14 at the time, in summer 2021 on the dating app Grindr. The victim said he told Fernandez he was 18 and a senior in high school after meeting him, and his age or school never came up after that.
Fernandez and the victim met about four times between summer 2021 and November 2022 to engage in sexual activity in multiple locations in Ocala, the victim told investigators.
The victim told Marion County Sheriff's Office detectives he never wanted to do anything sexual; he did it to get THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana, from Fernandez. Detectives found Snapchat and text messages in which the victim and Fernandez discussed meeting up for sexual intercourse and sent each other pornographic photos and videos of themselves. Investigators said they also found four Apple Pay transactions between the victim and Fernandez between July and November 2022.
Rondo Fernandez, owner of The Mojo Grill in Ocala, answered a call from WUFT News and said his family had no comment on the arrest.