Jarvis L. Young, 40, of Lakeland, Polk County, Florida, United States and Arnold Maurice Mathis, 51, of Lake Wales, Polk County were accused of having sex with two boys in a hotel room in Orlando, Orange County, Florida. The two boys were minors.
On December 17, 2011, Mathis and Young were arrested. That day, one of the victims, then 21, had a recorded conversation with Young, who admitted to having sex with then-underage boys in Orlando.
Mathis was charged with five counts of sexual battery on a child by a person of authority while Young was charged with conspiracy to commit sexual battery by a person in authority. However, the charges were dropped because the statute of limitations had run out by then.
Arnold Maurice Mathis
After working as a senior pastor with Saint City Power and Praise Ministries in Winter Haven, Polk County, Mathis became an assistant pastor with Higher Praise Ministries in Lake Wales. In 1994, he was convicted of lewd and lascivious assault on a child in Leon County, Florida.
Between November 2004 and January 2005, Mathis allegedly used a cell phone to entice a boy, then 14, to engage in sexual activity. He initially met the boy at a high school basketball game in Auburndale, Polk County.
Between May 2011 and November 2011, Mathis allegedly persuaded and attempted to persuade two boys, then 16, to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of the activity. On March 22, 2013, he was found guilty of enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, production and attempted production of child pornography, attempted production of child pornography and commission of these offenses while required to register as a sex offender.
Jarvis L. Young
Aside from Lakeland, Young has lived in other parts of Florida including Riverview and Tampa. He was an athlete when he attended Lakeland High School, which is part of the Polk County Public Schools.
In 2017, Young was accused of inappropriately touching a minor in a car but the victim’s family did not cooperate with the authorities so Young was not criminally charged. In December 2020, Young joined the Polk County Public Schools as a volunteer track coach and was paid a stipend.
On August 26, 2023, Young allegedly sexually battered a boy, 16, a Lakeland High School athlete. On August 28, 2023, the boy told the school resource officer that he was inappropriately touched by the track coach.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Young told detectives he was human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive. While being investigated, he fled Florida into Alabama, USA.
When Young returned to Florida, he was arrested and charged with sexual battery by custodian/victim between 12-18, lewd and lascivious molestation, abuse of a child without bodily harm, interfering with custody of minor and being an HIV-infected person having sex without informing partner. On September 15, 2023, a judge set bond at $350,000.
CONAN Daily 