Gilchrist County Sheriff's OfficeA Florida man has been arrested after being accused of breaking into the house of his wife’s lover and cutting off his penis.
Alex Bonilla, who worked at a dairy farm, faces multiple felony charges including burglary, two counts of cruelty toward a child, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and unlawfully using a weapon during a felony following his arrest.
A press release from Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office reports police were dispatched after receiving a call in reference to an armed burglary at around 11am on July 14.
The 49-year-old was said to have broken into the home of the victim, who is Bonilla’s neighbour, where he held him up at gunpoint. The incident took place at a mobile home in Gilchrist County, Florida.
According to WCJB News, the arrest affidavit says two of the victim’s children were inside the home at the time. The children reportedly witnessed Bonilla force the victim into his bedroom and threatened he would be killed if he resisted.
Police say Bonilla, who was identified by witnesses at the scene, tied the victim up, took him into a different room and mutilated him by cutting his penis off with a pair of scissors.
The 49-year-old then took the severed penis and fled the scene before police arrived. Court reports say Gilchrist County deputies surrounded Bonilla’s home but he wasn’t there, having apparently gone instead to the Alliance Dairies in Brandford, where he worked.
Gilchrist County Sheriff's OfficeDeputies found Bonilla there and arrested him a couple of hours after responding to the original call. A county wide search for additional evidence was conducted, though there was no result.
The victim remains in hospital in stable condition after being driven there by one of the responding deputies, though officials have not specified what Bonilla did with the severed penis.
The statement from Gilchrist Sheriff’s Office says the motive for the attack is unclear, though according to ABC News the arrest report states Bonilla ‘was found to have caught the victim and the [Bonilla’s] wife during sexual intercourse’ in May.
The 49-year-old is still being held in jail at the time of writing (July 17), with his bond set at $1.25 million.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.