Sheriff's Office arrests man they say had sexual relationship with minor

Osceola County Sheriff's officials have arrested an adult male they say had sexual relations with another male who was under 18.

Jose Alvarado, 45, has been charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery, two counts of unlawful sex with certain minors and one count of possession of child pornography. He's been booked into the Osceola County Jail without bond.

In March of 2024, Alvarado was was identified as a suspect in an investigation of alleged sexual acts with a minor; detectives say Alvarado cooperated. While Alvarado confessed to having sex with a male he met through the Grindr app, he said he believed the male to be 18 years old when the sex acts occurred.

Detectives say that during the investigation it, "Became clear Alvarado knew or should have reasonably known the victim was not an adult," a Sheriff's report stated.

A search of Alvarado’s phone revealed child pornography, after which an arrest warrant was obtained. A traffic stop was later conducted, at which time Alvarado was taken into custody for the above charges. During the stop, Alvarado was observed getting into his vehicle with another person in the passenger seat. Detectives say he explained the passenger was his nephew, however the passenger was identified as a juvenile — and was not Alvarado's nephew. The juvenile disclosed having had sex with Alvarado on at least two occasions.

According to the Sheriff's report, the juvenile’s mother was brought to the Sheriff’s Office, where she advised she knew of the relationship between the two. After further questioning, detectives say she refused to cooperate with the investigation.

Sheriff's officials say the mother is being charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for having knowledge of and allowing her juvenile son to have a sexual relationship with an adult male over the age of 23.