Valrico couple face child sex charges

VALRICO — A Valrico couple arrested Tuesday night are accused of enticing a young girl to perform sexually in their home, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators said the couple — Elizabeth Wirick, 45, and Richard Piccoli, 57, both of 3320 Stonebridge Trail — had 22 images depicting the victim involved in sexual conduct or lewd exhibition.

An arrest report shows the incidents occurred in November.

Four of the images show the girl engaging in a sexual performance. Three images show Wirick forcing or enticing the victim to touch her in a lewd manner, according to the Sheriff's Office. Six images show the victim next to Wirick and Piccoli while the girl is posing with or using an adult sex toy.

Wirick and the girl, who is under 12, engaged in sexual activity, said Debbie Carter, a Sheriff's Office spokeswoman. Piccoli posed nude in four of the photos.

Wirick faces 22 counts of using a child in a sexual performance, three counts of lewd or lascivious molestation with a defendant under 18, six counts of attempted capital sexual battery, three counts of lewd molestation and two counts of child abuse. She was being held without bail Wednesday night at a Hillsborough County jail.

Piccoli faces 22 counts of possession of child pornography, four counts of using a child in a sexual performance and two counts of child abuse. He was being held Wednesday night at the jail on $199,000 bail.

Deputies learned of the case when a witness, who was not identified, gave them a flash drive that contained images from the couple's laptop computer.

Jail records show Piccoli and Wirick were represented by attorney Glen Lanksy. His law firm declined to comment Wednesday afternoon.

Both Wirick and Piccoli have previous arrests in the state, records from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement show.

Piccoli has twice been convicted of grand theft and once for felony petty theft, records show. Wirick was convicted of driving under the influence with property damage or personal injury and was later arrested on a probation violation charge, the records show.

Time researcher John Martin contributed to this report.