A 20-year-old Bunnell man accused of raping a 15-year-old Flagler County girl was caught at PortMiami before he could board a cruise, after a state DNA match tied him to the case.
Story Highlights
- Customs officers arrested William Nikolas Moraitis, 20, at PortMiami on a Flagler County warrant.
- State lab testing matched his DNA to evidence from the teen’s forensic exam.
- The girl reported the attack to her School Resource Deputy the same morning.
- Investigators say his own text messages show he knew she was 15.
Why he was wanted
Flagler County deputies wanted Moraitis because the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the state’s crime lab agency, matched his DNA to evidence taken from a 15-year-old girl after an attack at her home. The girl told investigators he came to her home in the early morning of April 8, 2025, armed with a gun, and demanded sex after she had told him no. Moraitis was 18 at the time. No statement from a lawyer for Moraitis has been reported.
He faces one charge of lewd or lascivious battery on a victim 12 or older but under 16. That is the Florida charge used when an adult has sexual contact with a child in that age range. He is accused, not convicted, and a court will decide the case.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly, the county’s top law officer, said the girl acted fast. “This brave young lady went straight to her School Resource Deputy that same morning,” he said. A School Resource Deputy is a sworn deputy assigned to work inside a school.
How he was caught
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested Moraitis at PortMiami on Monday, October 19, as he tried to board a ship. Flagler County detectives had obtained the warrant for his arrest on October 12. He was booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail on a $50,000 bond. He is being held there until he is sent back to Flagler County, a step called extradition.
The DNA match came from the state lab in November 2025. Investigators did not say why the warrant came about a year after that match. Officials have not released that detail.
What investigators say the evidence shows
Detectives said they also have messages between Moraitis and the girl. According to reports, texts from August 2024 show that when she said she was turning 15, he replied that he was “too old” for her. Detectives also laid out a timeline. They said he left his Bunnell home at 12:45 a.m., reached her home at 1:07 a.m. and left 22 minutes later.
The girl said he came in through her window. She said she saw a handgun in his waistband and felt she had to let him in, though he did not point it at her, according to reports. Staly said Moraitis “knew her age but still climbed through her window while armed with a gun.” The sheriff said her fast report, the DNA and Moraitis’s own words “helped prove this case.”
Why this matters to families
The girl did the hardest thing first. She told a trusted adult right away, and that choice kept the evidence fresh. Her report, a careful state lab and alert officers at the port all worked together. Parents can take one lesson from it: children need to know there is a safe adult at school they can go to, any morning, with anything.
Anyone who needs help after an assault can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673, open 24 hours a day.
Sources:
news4jax.com, wftv.com, flaglersheriff.com
