The Tennessee man accused of molesting a 7-year-old child in Central Florida has waived extradition, clearing the way for him to face prosecution in Orlando.
Christopher M. Monaghan, 47, signed paperwork in Campbell County on Tuesday indicating he won't fight transfer to Orange County, records show.
Because of that, it's now up to the Orange County Sheriff's Office to come get him from Campbell County custody.
"We will have deputies who will travel to Tennessee to have Christopher Monaghan extradited back to Florida in reference to the Orange County warrant," Sheriff's Office authorities told WBIR on Wednesday.
The Sheriff's Office didn't respond specifically about when that would happen.
Monaghan, who most recently had been a teacher in Campbell County, is accused of sexually battering the child, now 21, in June 2008 in Central Florida.
The alleged victim confronted Monaghan earlier this year, prompting a criminal investigation in Florida.
On Tuesday morning, the United States Marshals Service's Smoky Mountain Fugitive Task Force arrested Monaghan, who has been living in Speedwell, as he headed to work at Campbell County High School.
The school system said Tuesday it promptly dismissed him. He'd been working there since August, teaching STEM.
According to his arrest warrant from the Sheriff's Office, Florida authorities learned about the battery Nov. 10, 2023, after the alleged victim reported it to a deputy.
The victim went over graphic details about how Monaghan sexually touched them and told them to keep it a secret. The victim said they tried to tell someone about it several times while growing up but that "Monaghan always made up an excuse for what actually happened."
The victim said they confronted Monaghan about the incident in June 2023. They said they had to live with it their entire life and said Monaghan apologized to them.
The victim said they wanted Monaghan prosecuted criminally and to testify in court for the 2008 incident.
They said they last spoke to Monaghan on the phone in November 2023. On Nov. 30, the victim interviewed him over a controlled phone call. The arrest warrant contained a synopsis of the recorded phone conversation, which had the victim confronting Monaghan about details in the 2008 incident.
"He mentioned how the victim told him he should not be a teacher or a youth leader working with children, and Monaghan said he did not have attraction or desire for that," the synopsis said. "Monaghan said he did not remember ever making the victim touch him, but added 'that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.' Monaghan said he was remorseful for what happened in the past and wished it had never happened."
