ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — An organization that looks out for foreign exchange students is investigating a recent Seminole County case in which a host father is accused of having sex with a teenage girl from Sweden.
The victim has since returned home to her native country, but outrage over what deputies said happened at the home where she was staying in Altamonte Springs continues to grow.
The Committee for Safety of Foreign Exchange students said it plans to file a complaint with the State Department as well as the Department of Homeland Security.
Deputies said Ernest Alfred was a host father for four foreign exchange students last month, but ahe had sex with one of the students twice.
“Once again, a student comes to our country to learn about the American way of life and they have been victimized. They have been sexually abused by the person that is supposed to take care of them," said the organization’s director, Danielle Grijalva.
She wants to make sure the sponsor followed the proper procedure.
"We want to learn if the sponsor in fact reported this to the State Department as per regulations that were written to protect these students," she said.
The sheriff’s office will not say which agency placed the students in Alfred’s care, because the case involves minors.
Alfred filed a motion with a judge on Monday to modify the conditions of his bond.
He requested that he be allowed back to his home with his children, since the exchange students are no longer there.
The request will be decided by the judge at a later hearing.
Cox Media Group
