LAKELAND – Polk County Sheriff’s Special Victims Detectives arrested a Lakeland man Friday and charged him with three counts of lewd molestation.
The sheriff’s office said Michael Winborn, 45, of Lakeland, inappropriately touched two girls, ages 9 and 11, underneath their clothing on at least three different occasions at his home.
Winborn is currently enrolled in ministry school and is a youth program coordinator at the Church of Christ on South Florida Avenue in Lakeland.
Winborn is a friend of the girls’ families, having met them through the church.
According to church officials, Winborn receives $100 per week to attend the church’s full-time ministry school and Bible study, and is currently the church’s Bible Study Coordinator. Church officials also told detectives that Winborn is heavily involved with youth programs at the church, organizing youth trips and events for the past several years.
Winborn was booked into the Polk County Jail and is being held without bond.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-534-6200 .