A judge ordered the former owner of a Wonder Lake grocery store held in jail pending trial after he was charged with sexually abusing a child and prosecutors say he also victimized 10 other children decades ago.
The Lee County, Florida Sheriff’s Office responded around 3:58 p.m. on December 4 to a residence in the 100 block of Orange Harbor Drive in Fort Myers, Florida.
Deputies were notified that a subject with an active warrant was possibly at the location, according to a probable cause statement.
Deputies made contact with Alan J. Mrowka, 69, whose identity was confirmed via his Illinois driver’s license.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office Communication Center verified Mrowka had an out-of-county warrant, the statement said.
The warrant was for aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony, out of McHenry County, the report said.
A warrant was issued for Mrowka on November 30 after the case was investigated by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.
A police report said Mrowka has a local address listed as the residence where he was arrested but also has an out-of-state residence in Wonder Lake.
Mrowka was transported to the Lee County Jail and recently extradited back to Illinois to face his charges.
He was taken into the custody of the McHenry County Jail on Thursday.
A judge ordered Mrowka held in custody pending trial after prosecutors filed a petition to detain him.
The charge against Mrowka involves a child under the age of 13 and occurred in the mid-1990s.
Prosecutors said investigators received 10 different reports from other people who alleged long-ago misconduct by Mrowka, the Northwest Herald reported.
All of the allegations came from middle-aged adults who were part of the Wonder Lake Water Ski Show Team when they were younger, prosecutors said.
Mrowka has not been charged in those incidents because of the statute of limitations, the Herald reported.
State records show Mrowka is the president and owner of Wonder Foods, Inc.
Wonder Foods was a grocery store in Wonder Lake that is no longer in business.
Mrowka is scheduled to appear in court again on January 17.