A Lighthouse Point man who pleaded guilty in January to sexual battery against a family member and video voyeurism against a woman who accused him of raping her in the 1990s was arrested in Broward County Thursday morning, accused of violating the terms of the sex offender probation he was sentenced to serve for five years.
Louis Bianculli, 78, had already served the 14 months he was ordered to spend behind bars, leaving him a free man as long as he lived up to the terms of his probation, which included a 10 p.m. curfew, abstention from pornography and prohibition from working at or visiting places where children congregate, including pet stores. Bianculli was a pet store owner in Fort Lauderdale in the 1990s when he allegedly used chloroform to subdue a 17-year-old female employee and have sex with her while she was unconscious.
Prosecutors say Bianculli didn’t list the vehicles he owns with the sex offender registry maintained by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He also listed his address as unspecified, the 2400 block of North Federal Highway. Bianculli is known to live in Lighthouse Point, according to an arrest report.
Police followed him as he drove from his home to the Fort Lauderdale address, indicating that Bianculli was living in Lighthouse Point but sleeping in his car.
He was charged with six new criminal counts, including failing to register as a sex offender, changing his vehicle without notifying the sex offender registry, and failing to register as a sexual predator.
Each charge is, separately, an alleged probation violation that could land Bianculli in prison for life even if he’s not convicted by a jury. Probation violations are proved by a preponderance of the evidence, not by the higher legal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
After his guilty plea in January, Bianculli was evaluated for involuntary civil commitment under the Jimmy Ryce Act of 1998, a Florida law that allows prosecutors to seek mandatory mental health treatment for sex offenders deemed likely to strike again. Mental health experts determined at the time that holding him was not necessary.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Threads.net/@rafael.olmeda.
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