According to a recent ruling by a judge, statements made by a Florida teenager who claims he was sexually abused by his own stepmother will be allowed to be presented at the trial of the disgraced Ocala nurse.
According to an order issued by Fifth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Timothy T. McCoourt, statements made by Alexis Yates’ stepson to forensic interviewer Allie Munshi of the child protection entity Safe Shores, can now be used as evidence at her sexual battery trial, including instances where “the child did not shy away from making statements that would cast himself in a negative light (i.e., using marijuana the night of the incident, and frequently in the months leading up.
The teen could have “minimized these things — which he would have had motive and opportunity to do — but did not,” according to McCourt. “The court finds that this bolsters the overall reliability of his statement and its contents,” according to the judge.
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“While he was not displaying emotions like sadness, the child … nevertheless expressed a mix of emotions consistent with the complex situation in which he then found himself (a situation the child himself referred to as being ‘f—ed up’),” according to McCourt.
McCourt was asked to decide whether the victim’s statements were “reliable and trustworthy” enough for his recorded interview with Munshi, as well as her testimony at a May 29 hearing, to be used at trial.
Yates, 35, has pleaded not guilty to sexual battery of a person aged 12 to 18 by someone in familial custody. The defendant’s employer, the Florida Department of Health, issued an emergency suspension order last month after her arrest was reported, according to online DOH records. According to the DOH, she has held a single-state registered nurse license since 2016.
Yates was arrested last year after allegedly sexually assaulting her husband’s biological son in July 2024, according to police. Yates was investigated and arrested after receiving an anonymous tip. The victim allegedly told police that he was on vacation and visiting his father over the summer when the sexual assault occurred.
“His father worked late hours as a lineman,” Yates’ arrest affidavit states. “The child victim was hanging out with his stepmother while she was caring for his younger siblings. … Around 11 p.m., the two of them started relaxing on the couch, ‘hitting’ a THC cartridge while playing video games. Several hours later, they decided to watch a movie.
According to the affidavit, the teen and Yates both found the movie “boring,” so they began talking about other topics before Yates made sexual advances on the boy. They allegedly performed sexual acts, including intercourse. The teen told police that Yates had been making “sexual jokes” for about a week before the incident, according to the affidavit.
McCourt stated in his order that the boy spends “the majority of the year with his mother” in Washington, D.C., and visits his father in Florida twice a year.
“While any situation where parents share custody of a child lends itself to the possibility of improper influence, there was no evidence that any domestic dispute was ongoing at the time of this incident,” McCourt said, noting that the boy also appeared to be a “particularly intelligent and mature young man” at the time his statements were taken.
“[The teen] appeared to be somewhat worldly and familiar with adult things (e.g., he described using a THC vape before having sex with Defendant, and smoking weed ‘pretty much every day’ he was in Florida),” according to McCourt. “When considered together with the totality of circumstances attendant to this case, consideration of this factor weighs moderately in favor of the reliability of the child’s statements.”
