Alleged Pedophile Lives In Their Midst

Shock and horror rang out through the quiet College Point community where an alleged pedophile had been living and preying on children for at least a year after news of the abuse was disclosed last week.
“I can’t understand something like this,” said Hilda Gehm, a neighbor. “I was shocked. It’s disgusting and absolutely horrible.”
Michael Flory, 48, who moved to Long Island two weeks ago, seemed ever the “good neighbor.” He was arrested on March 18 for allegedly having raped, sodomized and molested at least seven children between the ages of 7 and 11 in both his home and a van parked outside his home.
And according to law enforcement officials, Flory, who claimed that his victims were willing to endure the abuse and actually enjoyed it, has admitted to having molested even more children. Additionally, it is alleged that Flory told law enforcement officials that he saw nothing wrong with having sexual relations with children.
But what surprises residents most is the fact that Flory seemed to be a loving father and exhibited no outward signs of deviancy. In fact, he often volunteered to drive neighborhood children to school.
“He wasn’t someone we would suspect at all,” said Reverend Linda Burlew, pastor of First Reformed Church, at which Flory was a parishioner for at least four years. “He never volunteered with any children in the church in any capacity, never volunteered with Sunday school. We’re still trying to figure this out, grapple with it and get our minds around it.”
Authorities are actively trying to track down any and all of Flory’s victims as his former neighbors express relief at his arrest.
“I think that once he moved out the kids felt relieved and felt they could finally tell their parents,” said Tina Porcari, who lives a few doors down from Flory.
He has been charged in multiple criminal complaints with rape in the first degree, criminal sexual acts in the first degree, sexual abuse in the first degree and endangering the welfare of a child. He faces 50 years in prison if convicted.
“The charges accuse the defendant of betraying his trust as a parent and destroying the innocence of children,” said District Attorney Richard A. Brown. “The charges are shocking.”
Despite his arrest, parents nonetheless are still uneasy about the welfare of their children.
“I feel like my sense of safety has been shattered,” said Terry Essig, a mother of three. “My children are my life, my world, and I don’t know what I would do if anything like that ever happened to them.”