Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the legExclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
GOLDEN GATE Collier commissioners approve agreement for golf complex in Golden Gate Collier commissioners unanimously approved a long term lease and operating agreement to reopen the Golden Gate golf course Tuesday.
William Sheehan, a former San Carlos Elementary School teacher and Camp Miles counselor. Sheehan is accused of sexually abusing young boys at Camp Miles in the 1980s. he was never arrested for those accusation. Credit: Sun Chronicle. We acquired hundreds of pages of documentation chronicling the years of inappropriate touching a former Lee County teacher who was also a Charlotte County camp counselor is accused of committing against several young boys. Eventually, the teacher resigned, and the state stripped him of his certificate. This man is William Sheehan, a former Boy Scout leader and former fourth-grade teacher at San Carlos Park Elementary School back in the 1980s. Aaron Averhart was 15 years old when he reported Sheehan after he says Sheehan sexually abused him for years at Camp Miles in Charlotte County. Averhart told us he was still scared of Sheehan at the time he made the report. And within nearly 300 pages of documentation from School District of Lee County are allegations Sheehan molested kids at Camp Miles. Parents went to the principal at San Carlos Elementary to ask him to keep Sheehan away from their kids. In the documents, there are the handwritten stories, records dating back 30 years, centering on William Sheehan. A principal, multiple investigators and a student recount stories of abuse at Camp Miles, a summer camp run by Boy Scouts of America. “It was only two weeks into the second summer that he started to rape me,” Averhart said. “I was 13 that second summer, and it just got progressively worse from there.” Averhart said he’s the one who came forward to another Camp Miles counselor in 1989. What reportedly happened at the camp was learned by those at San Carlos Elementary because Sheehan taught fourth grade there. The documents show parents of two male students warned the school principal about Sheehan. Their stories sounded like Averhart’s. “He had started to choke me, more so in the third and fourth summers,” Averhart said. “He liked to dunk me in the water when we were on the waterfront to the point where I didn’t think I was going to be back up in time to get a breath.” Investigations were opened and closes again and again. But Sheehan remained in the classroom at San Carlos on the condition he would not touch any students. “It was year four, and it was a breaking point,” Averhart said. “I had contemplated cutting my wrists. That was the only option I had, I thought.” But Boy Scouts severed ties with Sheehan. Then, School District of Lee County launched an official investigation. Instead of defending himself, Sheehan quit. In his letter of resignation, he called the accusations against him a “lie.” Sheehan also said he did not want to put his family through a public hearing and be forced to leave because of “false allegations.” In the handwritten note written by a student, he said Sheehan walked around Camp Miles early in the morning and late at night. One time, the boy said he asked Sheehan why he did that. The boy said Sheehan answered, ‘Because I love you guys.” Sheehan died in Fort Myers in 2017 from advanced Alzheimer’s disease. He is also accused of molesting children in Massachusets. He was never arrested for accusations against him out of state or in Southwest Florida. Another victim has formed a survivor’s network. Anyone who wants to connect can call (508) 479-8352.