Former cop who raped 12-year-old enjoys retirement in Florida home after stalling trial for 25 years saying he's 'dying'
Leonard Forte was a 54-year-old former detective from the Suffolk County, NY, District Attorney's office back in 1995, when he was due in a Vermont court on charges of repeatedly raping and molesting his daughter's 12-year-old friend.
But he soon started dying, according to a report by USA Today. Forte reportedly told the court he was on a heart transplant list and that he would be dead within a year if he did not get a donor for a new heart.
The case was delayed by a Vermont prosecutor, in good faith, until Forte would be healthy enough to stand trial.
However, it has now come to light that Forte never received a heart transplant and has since been enjoying his retirement in Florida, taking vacations, collecting boats, and delaying his trial by fooling judges for more than two decades saying he's on the verge of death.
In a shocking revelation, the report found that Forte has since taken at least 11 extended trips. These also include RV jaunts to New York — within 200 miles of the Vermont courthouse where Forte has repeatedly stated he is too ill to travel.
Forte claimed in 2017 he had been transferred to hospice care and only had six months to live."I've been dying for 25 years, your honor," he told a judge by phone at the time. "I'm sorry I'm still alive."
In June this year, Forte called in claiming he cannot function without using an oxygen tank 24x7. However, a USA Today photographer went by his Florida residence in September — only to find the elderly man standing in the yard without the breathing aid and wearing jogging gear and track pants instead.
Michelle Dinko, who was 12 when she accused Forte of rape in 1987, is now a 45-year-old mother to her own teen children. She has been waiting all her life for her alleged attacker to appear in the Vermont courtroom.
Meanwhile, materials key to the prosecution of Forte have already been destroyed by Vermont officials, including most of the original trial record.
According to the report, the destruction of the transcripts and court audio recordings from the trial is mostly due to the age of the case, which is by far the oldest open prosecution in Vermont.