Brian Scott Wirth, a 39-year-old resident of Palm Coast’s R-Section, was charged with two counts of raping his 7-year-old daughter two weeks ago, among other charges. On Tuesday, while held at the Flagler County jail, he was served with additional, similar charges involving his son, now 13.
In both cases the children have told authorities the assaults began when they were younger. In some cases Wirth would have the children perform sexual acts in his presence, for his gratification, or have them witness sexual acts he performed on them. Wirth gave Flagler County Sheriff’s detectives varying explanations for his behavior, saying his attempts to tend to his daughter’s physiological issues in her private parts and his teaching his sons how to masturbate were erroneously interpreted. On Monday, he entered a not-guilty plea on the counts involving his daughter.
Local authorities were first alerted to the case on June 12 when Wirth’s wife reported that Wirth had touched her daughter inappropriately. The girl told detectives that her father would touch her and make her watch what she described as “bad things” on his tablet–pornographic material that at times allegedly involved children.
When a Child Protection Team conducted a forensic interview with the child, she described lurid acts her father allegedly conducted from the time when she was 5 years old, including rapes and her attempts to stop him by various means, when he would counter by telling her to “calm down.” The child spoke in her own euphemisms for the assaults, describing the assaults starkly but in a child’s terms, and spelling out the letters of the word “sex” rather than saying the word outright.
She told her interviewers he tried to assault her “every single day,” that he forced her to watch pornography and speak words she did not want to speak, and made her pose nude for pictures “but deleted them,” she said, “so mom wouldn’t see.” He told her not to speak of it to her mother.
Detective Annie Conrad, who has investigated numerous such cases, interviewed Wirth in his garage a recent evening. He agreed to speak with the detective, initially denying the allegations against him. He then told Conrad that he was merely helping his daughter with a skin condition in her private parts, examining her and coaching her on how to treat it daily. “He does not keep track of how many times he has done it,” the detective reported in his arrest report.
He did not take his daughter to the doctor, claiming she was scared of doctors. He never told his wife about his daughter’s alleged skin condition because he was himself “scared that she will think something else due to the previous incidents.” Wirth then described previous allegations against him resulting from when he “helped his male children learn how to masturbate properly.”
Wirth’s 13-year-old son was interviewed by the Child Protection Team two days after the younger child was interviewed and disclosed that his father had started inappropriately touching him when the family still lived in Illinois and he was 8 or 9 years old. The family moved to Florida in 2018. In Illinois, he said Worth would bribe him to participate in sex games. “Things got a lot worse” after the move to Palm Coast, he told the interviewers, as his father raped him “regularly,” allegedly showed him child pornography just as regularly and made his younger sister pose nude in front of them. Wirth allegedly went as far as attempting to engage the children in sexual acts on each other, but they refused.
One of the arrest reports cites yet another witness, 18, who was “able to provide credible information that also corroborated” the younger boy’s statements.
Wirth faces three capital felony charges of raping a child younger than 12, each of which carries a penalty of life in prison without parole on conviction. He also faces life felony count of lewd or lascivious molestation, a first degree felony count of raping a child as a custodian of the child, a first degree felony count of lewd or lascivious molestation, and two second-degree felony counts of lewd or lascivious conduct. The differences in charges and felony levels reflects the different ages of the children at the times of the assaults: charges are more severe when a victim is younger, and if different counts are applied regarding incidents involving the same child before and after the child turned 12, then different-level felonies will apply.
He’s being held on $875,000 bond.
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Kat says
I cannot even begin to process this. My most sincere wishes that these children receive the help they need, immediately! As for him, he is unforgivable.
Disgusted says
These children have been subjected to repeated sexual abuse, and robbed of their childhood and now the perpetrator, the person that’s supposed to protect them and provide their security, is being held ON BOND!! Now the system that’s supposed to protect them and provide them security is going to fail them, too. When will we stop putting these vile criminals back out on the streets. Despicable. I pray he can’t make bail.
Vicb says
This is freaking ridiculous ☹☹
And they gave him bail !!!
Trailer Bob says
I agree with Kat. I am a tough, been around the block 64 year old and I cannot imagine how someone could do this….but especially to his own children?
Of course he is “sick”, but the organization and process of him being so relaxed about doing this is REALLY sick. I realize that life in prison is bad (if he gets it), but still I am sorry to say he should be removed from the living, because I doubt he will stop this happen anytime soon.
Dude, if you are reading this I suggest you do the right thing so the healing can begin.
This is heartbreaking says
Thank you to the ones working so hard to put people like this where they belong…. somewhere where they can no longer ruin innocent children’s lives. My heart hurts for these children he has abused.
Maria says
Please let justice keep him locked away!
FB says
This hurts my heart for those poor children. Parents are supposed to be protectors … I pray they get the counseling and support they will desperately need, and that he goes to jail for a very long time
ASF says
I think this sorry excuse for a human being can look forward to some serious jailhouse justice.
R Taylor says
How can these poor babies ever get past this, they will be burdened by this the rest of their lives. God be with them.
Stephen says
A Monster and unfathomable how a Parent could do this.
tr says
Oh I am sure he will get some Jailhouse Justice. Most of the others in lockup are saints compared to this POS. They will probably put him in his own cell, if that is possible. But I rather that not be the case. Just saying…
Sandy says
Why was he given bail? These poor kids have to be further traumatized now? Where is their justice? I hope the court can put him away ASAP to stop these kids from being tortured any further!!!
FlaglerLive says
He was given bond. He has not bailed out.
Suzy says
Please do not allow this devil of a father out on bail. He should stay in a cell and rot. Awful, just awful. My thoughts and prayers go out to the children.
Only Me says
Those poor children living with a monster. I hope his wife has filed for divorce and threw all his belonging out in the trash, because that is where he should be too.
Lock him up for life because that is exactly what he deserves.
A. J. says
Sad. I sure hope these children will heal. Child sexaul abuse is bad. Hope the wife will hael also. She is hurting and angry. They all need counseling. With the history of this country, he will probably get away with a slap on the wrist. I believe the wife and children will spend a lifetime healing.
Undisclosed says
I know this man from childhood. We grew up in the same neighborhood and his step father is a police officer. Never in a million years would I have imagined this. I also know his wife. She is one of the most selfless and loving people ever to have walked this eath. I am praying hard for her and the children to be able to overcome their victimization and help once ghey are older to make parents, guardians, friends, or neighbors aware of behavioral signs and teach children to be able to speak up so they do not have to relive the same traumatic experiences over and over again. Please help children by giving them a voice and ensuring they will be safe if allegations are brought up in the future. So many times DCF gets involved, and it’s a slap on the wrist. Get serious about keeping our children safe. We all need to look out for one another and each other’s children. So many children traumatized, victimized, abducted, stalked, and disappear. Get involved people. It IS YOUR business!