The recent police sting in Sarasota that led to the arrest of 31 men started with police posting on Craigs List under the "casual encounters" section. Although you are supposed to be over 18 to even be in this section, the police engage people in chat luring them into suggestive conversations. During the course of these conversations the police pose as young females about to be of legal age of consent and lure them to meetings in Sarasota County. Each case is different but eventually the police arrest the men, sometimes men who do not even come to Sarasota for engaging in sexually explicit conversations with minors. In truth, there are no minors. This conduct can under some circumstances be deemed to be entrapment.
In the most recent sting men from all walks of life were arrested. As a sex crime lawyer I recognize the difference between someone who regularly engages in contact with minors and others who are simply lured into sexual chat by crafty undercover cops. The charges are serious and often high bonds are set by the local judges. A conviction can result in lifetime registration as a sexual offender and destroy a person's career and in some instances result in years in jail. The Florida sentencing guidelines provide in most instances for prison sentences. Not all lawyers handle sex cases and it is important to hire an experienced criminal defense lawyer here in Sarasota to deal with this type of sex charge. Many times there are good defenses to these types of criminal charges and no case is totally hopeless. The police in many instances release videos to the press and TV stations and try their cases in the media instead of the courtroom. As a former prosecutor I find such conduct offensive and improper but in nonetheless happens.
The bottom line is stay off Craig's List when it comes to finding a date. If you are ever on the Internet and the person you are talking to even hints that they are a minor, terminate all contact immideately. Never, no never travel to meet a minor or you may find yourself accused of soliciting a minor or traveling to meet a minor. The best way to avoid a criminal conviction for a sex crime is not to commit it. Do not be tempted or lured by suggestive conversation. Chances are, it is a cop.
If you have been arrested or think you are under investigation for a sex offense we offer a free consultation and can be reached 24/7. I have been representing people charged with sex offenses for over thirty years. I have offices in Ft. Myers, Punta Gorda and Sarasota and you can contact me either on the phone or through the Internet
]]>In a joint effort, the Sarasota Sheriff, the North Port Police, the Venice Police and the Manatee Sheriff's office launched a six day crackdown on men on the Internet seeking sex with minors. All face long prison sentences as well as sex offender probation and sex offender registration.
Police, posing as underage boys and girls lured unsuspecting men on the Internet into chatting , texting, sexting and ultimately travel to meet minors for sex acts. An arrest can be a devastating event that ruins your life, your job and many times our relationship with your spouse. Many times even your friends and relatives abandon you and leave you sitting in jail on high bond. As a sex crime defense lawyer, I have defended even high profile cases that were on TV in the series "To catch a Predator"
There are defenses to these charges including Entrapment under some circumstances. Also, sometimes there are technical defenses. Not all criminal defense attorneys handle sex cases. As a former prosecutor and thirty year veteran of the criminal Courts I have defended all types of sex offenses including Internet Sex Crimes and even Federal Charges for traveling interstate to meet a minor.
The cops regularly run these Internet Sex Stings and usually seize and forfeit the cars the guys drive to the meeting with the under aged child. My job is not to judge you but rather to defend you. Good people do get arrested and many times you may have a valid defense or simply need counseling and not a prison sentence. Never give up hope. Sometimes an experienced Sarasota criminal lawyer can be successful in raising defenses or negotiating a plea deal that minimizes the damage already done by the arrest. Sarasota sex charges are serious and the public opinion starts off against you but nothing is impossible. Call today for a free consultation. I will be honest with you and tell it like it is. You don't want a defense attorney that just tells you what you want to hear just to get a big fee. Good results are generally the result of hard work, skillful negotiation, knowing the law and most of all dedication and the absolute belief that people are presumed innocent.
If you have a sex charge in North Port or a sex offense in Venice, or believe you may be in a situation where you are under investigation as a result of talking with a cop on the Internet. More arrests are expected in Sarasota for the guys that emailed but did not show up. Do not wait for the police to knock on your door or serve a Search Warrant on your computer. Never surrender your computer without a court order and never try and talk yourself out of trouble. Call today to discuss your situation or visit my site in Sarasota at sarasotadefender.com
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A jury in Labelle returned a not guilty verdict in an alleged lewd and lascivious child sex case on Tuesday. Judge Amy Hawthorne presided over a three day trial in which it was alleged that a father improperly touched his ten year old daughter years ago. The State Attorney argued that the touching occurred in the shower. Emotions ran high between the families of the father and the family of the wife and daughter. Ultimately, the jury determined that the State had failed to produce evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.
As a sex crime lawyer, all to often I have seen charges instigated by a jealous wife hoping to gain some advantage in divorce or child custody proceedings. Being falsely accused of sex crime like lewd and lascivious molestation can destroy your life forever. The general public has a tendency to always believe a child although many times the child has been manipulated by a parent or has grossly exaggerated the facts.
Thank God we have in America a system that provides for a jury of our peers. If we left this up to the police and prosecutors many innocent people would be in prison. The sad fact is that in the Labelle case the defendant sat in jail for over a year waiting for his day in Court. Cross examination is an important tool in determining the truth in any case and an experienced criminal defense attorney can often get to the bottom of the false allegation. I have been defending people falsely accused of sexual battery, date rape, lewd acts, human trafficking and sex crimes for thirty years. As a former prosecutor and veteran criminal defense lawyer I have seen many innocent people put through the horror of being falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted by prosecutors with a vendetta.
In the Hendry County sex case, the truth won out. If you are under investigation or worse yet have been charged in Ft. Myers, Naples or Sarasota with a sex offense or just want to talk or get information about possible sex charges, call today for a free consultation or respond to this blog.
]]>In the age of the Internet an entire new category of crimes has been created. The Internet makes it possible for otherwise law abiding people to destroy their lives with one clink of the mouse. Curiosity killed the cat and it has resulted in countless people going to Federal Prison serving long jail sentences for downloading or viewing kiddie porn, commonly called child pornography. This is a crime that knows no social or economic boundaries. We have seen arrests of law enforcement officers, teachers, doctors and many professionals for possession of child pornography and in some instance transmission of images of minors engaged in sex. Many people go on the Internet and live in a fantasy world. In many instances, it is driven by simple curiosity.
The FBI has a task force that tracks visits and identifies IP addresses for people who visit certain file sharing sites. If you go to one of these sites, there is a record of your visit and you may get a knock on your door and a visit from a local detective, sheriff deputy or FBI agent. They may ask you to surrender your computer for examination. Never, no never voluntarily surrender your compute, Ipad, notebook or electronic device to the cops.
If you live in a household where several people have access to the computer you may find yourself arrested and facing Federal charges for something someone else viewed or downloaded. Do you have teenagers in your house? They may have sexted and sent an illegal image to a minor. I have seen numerous cases where a person sends a pic of a penis or some young lady sends an email image of her private area. Your child can become a Federal felon for simply doing something stupid.
As a Federal criminal defense attorney and former Federal Agent I have seen both sides of the picture. I can view the facts fairly from both sides. I am not here to judge you, I am here to defend you. Often, good people get arrested for literally a few seconds of bad judgment.
There are valid defenses to Sex crimes, particularly Internet sex crimes and you need a lawyer that has a working knowledge of cyber crimes and technical defenses to Internet sex offense allegations. If you have a question, are under investigation or worse yet, if you have been arrested in Bradenton or face a sex crime charge in Sarasota call today for a free consultation. I have an offices in Sarasota, Punta Gorda and Ft. Myers and handle cases in Hendry, Lee, Charlotte, Citrus and Manatee counties. I also represent those facing Federal sex charges in Tampa and Ft. Myers.
PROFESSIONALS ARE HELD TO A HIGHER STANDARD. Nationwide and particularly, here in Florida, professionals who use electronic devices as an essential part of their livelihood are being accused of possessing child pornography on their computers, cell phones and other electronic devices. Under Federal Law, actually, Title 18 USC 2252 a person is guilty of a Federal felony where he or she KNOWINGLY receives, or distributes, any visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Sometimes these illegal images have been accidentally down loaded and are running in the background of your electronic device, or are buried in the memory of a cell phone, laptop, netbook or other PDA. You may not know you have kiddie porn or child porn on your device.
The images may not be real. They may be computer generated and not of actual minors.
Federal Law allows prosecution where the image merely depicts an image of what appears to be a minor. The element in any child pornography charge that gives Federal Courts jurisdiction is that the visual depiction or child pornography was transported through or had some relation to Interstate Commerce. This element can be shown by the fact that the visual depiction was downloaded over the Internet at any point in time. Deleting them on your device does not erase these images. They are held on your computer in "unallocated space" and are not erased.
Federal offenses in which child is the victim have their own Statute of Limitations. Like capital crimes,(where the death penalty can be imposed),and terrorism, crimes against children now have no Statute of Limitations. A federal offense against a minor can be prosecuted at any time, even decades later. False accusations of sex crimes can ruin a reputation and will result in the suspension of a professional license, Do not lose hope and never give up your right to an attorney and never surrender your electronic device without consulting an attorney. Call my office immediately if you have concerns and get that peace of mind.
As an experienced sex crime lawyer, I have defended professional such as doctors, lawyers, stock traders, and others holding professional licenses. A conviction will end your career.
Never consent to an interview with the police. Never surrender your computer.
]]>Arrests continue across Southwest Florida on various sex crimes. In Lehigh Acres a man was charged with lewd exhibition for allegedly exposing himself to a minor. Allegedly the man was seen by several boys exposing himself from the waist down. Sometimes the public rushes to judgment in sex arrest cases and assumes a person is guilty. As an experienced Lee County sex crime lawyer I can tell you that many times there are two sides to a story. I defended an old man years ago in Cape Coral for the same crime. In that case, the old guy was sitting on a chair in his garage in baggy shorts and accidentally exposed his penis as some kids walked by. In today's atmosphere everyone always assumes the worst. Just because someone sees a sex organ does not mean it is intentional.
Years ago I defended a man who urinated off a bridge and was charged with indecent exposure. When the rest of the story was told it turns out he and some buddies went to a rock concert, drank a lot of beer and then got stuck on a broken drawbridge. There was no sexual intent and the man was simply doing what he and nature compelled.
I also defended a man who was charged with indecent exposure for laying on the beach with a flesh colored large rubber penis hanging out his shorts. It was not his penis but only an exaggerated rubber one. It was not his sexual organ. Although in terrible taste his conduct was bad, it was not against the law.
In defending sex crimes it is important to keep an open mind. We live in a sexually charged environment and what you read in the press or see on TV is not what really happened. If you are arrested or charged with any sex crime from child pornography to sexual battery you need an experienced sex offense attorney with years of actual courtroom experience. Never give up hope. If you have an issue or are under investigation call today for a free consultation
]]>If you have been arrested for child pornography in Sarasota, Bradenton or Ft. Myers you may feel that there is no hope. There are defenses to kiddie porn sex crime offenses.
Just because you have been accused of a sex crime like possession of child pornography or worse transmission of child pornography does not mean you are guilty. It is not enough for the State or the FBI to prove illegal images are on your computer. They must prove how they get there, who put them there, who knew they were there and that you intended to either download, possess or transmit the child porn.
You may have accidentally downloaded an illegal image from Limewire or some P2P file sharing network. You may never have even seen it or opened it up. It may be on your computer without your knowledge.
Not all criminal defense attorneys or criminal lawyers understand the Internet or computers and computer software. For that matter, not all sex crime lawyers understand computers. I regularly handle Internet Sex Crimes.
There absolutely are good technical defenses to Internet crimes. You can attack the search warrant and seizure of your computer. You may have been illegally arrested. Even if you confessed you may be able to keep your confession from being admitted as evidence. As a sex crime defense lawyer I never give up hope. Nothing is impossible.
A child pornography conviction will haunt you for life and make you a registered sex offender. I regularly handle sex crime defense in all of Southwest Florida. If you have questions call my criminal defense firm at any one on my three offices in Sarasota, Punta Gorda or Ft. Myers, e-mail me or reply to this blog. Remember that just because you decided to "delete" doesn't mean it's gone. Deleted files are still on your computer and can be recovered and get you arrested.
]]>Spring Break is great but a combination of beer, sex and a night of fun can ruin your life. If you are over twenty four and you have sex with a girl seventeen or younger you can find yourself charged with a felony sex crime that can destroy your life. Normally sixteen is the age of consent in Florida, but if you are twenty five or older it is a serious felony to engage in sex with a seventeen year old. That creates a real problem for the local guys when the college girls come to town. Many of these college kids have fake IDs and hang out in the local bars like Lani Kai. They may look older and they have a phony ID and they may be in a bar that cards, but they are still jail bait. The law is designed to protect young women from the more experienced older men. Beware of these young girls and when in doubt walk away and don't look back. Even if the girl is a hooker or prostitute, if she is underage you are looking at state prison time.
It is even worse is if you engage in Sexting ( sending sexually explicit photos) over the Internet. That crime can get you in Federal trouble where you are looking at big time. Half of the people in Chat rooms are cops and if you go on Plento-o-fish you may find yourself engaged in sex chat with an undercover cop. Never travel to meet any underage person. Never, no never send child porn or sexually explicit photos over the Internet.
Spring break is a time for relaxation and fun and the last thing you need is to find yourself arrested for doing something stupid like messing with some underage girl or boy. Alcohol can impair your judgment and cloud you thoughts and sweet sixteen can get you life. Most sex crimes will make you a registered sex offender and that only begins a life of misery. If you get arrested in Ft. Myers or anywhere is southwest Florida call my office to speak with an experienced criminal lawyer at no charge
]]>A Federal Judge sentenced a Bradenton man to eleven years in Federal Prison last week after he was convicted of traveling to meet a minor he thought was fourteen years old. An undercover police officer posing as a 14 year old girl developed an online relationship with the defendant. The texting and chatting went on for months until finally the man agreed to meet what he believed to be a young girl for sex. The man actually drove to Brevard County to have what he thought was to be a sexual encounter but was arrested when he arrived by the police. In addition to eleven years in prison, he will also have to serve ten years of Federal Probation and have to register as a sex offender for at least the next twenty years.
In some instances the defense of entrapment is available to people who have been arrested for sex offenses. The issue is whether or not the crime arose in the mind of the person or the police officer.
An entrapment defense turns on the issue of predisposition. If the government can show the person was predisposed to commit the crime, by for example showing that he had done it in the past then the defense of entrapment fails. This is a classic example of why a person should never engage in chat with someone who says they are underage. The fact is that most of the people in the chat rooms are undercover law enforcement officers that make a living enticing unsuspecting people into committing sex crimes. It is against the law to travel to meet a minor for sex. It is against the law to encourage the minor to travel to meet you. As a criminal defense attorney handling many sex crime cases, I see all too often how very easy it is to fall victim to the police ploy. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines the penalties are incredibly harsh and long prison sentences are routinely handed out.
Stay out of the Chat rooms. Never text a minor and never, no never travel to meet a minor for any purpose. Your life can be ruined if you succumb to this temptation. If you have been arrested for a sex crime in Bradenton or Sarasota or anywhere in Southwest Florida including Ft. Myers contact me for a free consultation. No case is totally hopeless
]]>U. S. District Court Judge Michael Moore sentenced two men to life in prison for raping up to fifty women while filming them for porn movies. They contacted the women posing as models. They gave them the date rape drug and one of them had sex with the unconscious woman while the other man filmed it. The films were to be posted on the Internet and distributed as porn rape movies.
This is an example of how women can be victimized while drugged with the powerful date rape drugs. This is becoming a common occurrence and women should be especially careful when meeting men in bars. There is safety in numbers and women should not go out alone drinking lest they fall victim to the predators.
As a criminal defense lawyer defending sex crimes I can appreciate the dangers posed for unescorted women. I know of a woman who barely escaped being raped after being drugged in a bar. Her girlfriends kept two men from carrying her out after slipping something in her drink. It pays to be careful.
The Federal Judge in this case imposed life in prison on both men after hearing testimony that up to fifty women may have fallen victim to the ploy.
If you think you may have fallen victim under similar circumstances, contact your local police. You may be on the Internet and not even know it.
As a former Federal prosecutor and thirty year veteran criminal defense attorney even I am shocked by the scope of this case.
Post your comments on this blog or contact me with you opinion on this case
]]>A call to 911 by a single mother in Milwaukee results in rape by the responding officer. Officer Ladmarald Cates, the first officer on scene sent her boyfriend to the store for water and while he was gone forcibly raped the woman who had called to report a crime. When the other officers arrived she was hysterically accusing officer Cates of raping her. The police instead arrested her for assault on an officer and she spent four days in jail.
Incredibly, officer Cates was not initially arrested and although the DNA evidence was irrefutable, he was fired for "loafing" on the job. The State prosecutor did nothing. Fortunately, the Federal authorities went forward with a prosecution against Cates who had five prior allegations against him for sexual misconduct. Internal Affairs was asleep at the wheel and basically did nothing to help this poor woman who was a criminal justice major. Race must have played a factor in the State's decision not to prosecute. This is typical of the white wash often done to cover up police misconduct. But for the intervention of the U. S. Attorney, Cates would have escaped the justice system.
All too often, police misconduct is dismissed and swept under the rug. If you know of instances such as this or other police misconduct post it on this Blog or contact me. I can at least point you in the right direction and try and bring some justice to the system. As a criminal defense attorney I hear stories of police brutality all the time. We need to expose this conduct if we ever hope to bring it to an end
]]>Canadian Authorities busted sixty people in a massive child porn investigation that may spill over into Southwest Florida. The authorities charged 213 separate violation, seized large amounts of money and weapons while executing search warrants. To the extent that files and images of underage children were shared on the Internet we can expect the investigation to flow into Ft. Myers, Sarasota and Naples.
When law enforcement executes a search warrant they generally have forensic experts go through the computers searching for links to other people who have shared files. Since a lot of kiddie porn comes out of or through Canada it is expected that the investigations will eventually reach anyone in this area that may have file shared or sent or received child porn.
Law enforcement will track the IP addresses and you can expect search warrants being executed by both federal authorities and local state agencies. Even if images were deleted, they are still most of the time buried in the computer and law enforcement can ring them back to life.
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines here in America call for the imposition of extremely long prison sentences for simply viewing images or even worse, sharing child porn images.
If you think you may have a problem, do not wait for them to knock on the door. Never under any circumstances surrender your computer without a search warrant. Never consent to an interview and never under any circumstance think you will be able to talk your way out of being arrested. As an experienced sex crime lawyer I can assure you that exercising your right to an attorney is the best course. Call today if you think you may have a problem or just want to discuss your situation. There is no charge for a free consultation.
]]>All across Florida, law enforcement continues to make arrests for sex crimes many of which appear to originate in chat rooms. Almost every police department has an officer working child porn and on any given day there are hundreds of police posing as minors trying to entice unsuspecting people into sending improper images or in some instances traveling to meet a minor. There are several task forces that have been formed between local law enforcement and the Federal authorities the goal of which is to make arrests for sex crime offenses.
In Federal Court, the penalties in child porn cases involve long Federal prison sentences and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines are extremely harsh. As an experienced sex crime lawyer I see all to often, innocent people getting tempted into doing something they would not otherwise do. An arrest for kiddie porn or child pornography can destroy your life and your reputation. There are valid defenses in these cases. One defense is that of entrapment. The issue in an entrapment case is one of predisposition. Did the police induce you to do something you would not otherwise do?
There are also technical defenses for computer crimes. Law enforcement has to prove who was behind the computer and who was responsible for downloading a picture of a minor engaged in sex. If you have wi-fi, a neighbor may have hacked into your system or it may be someone else in your household that was using your computer. If you had a friend or relative staying with you or using your computer you may find yourself the victim of a search and seizure when you have done absolutely nothing wrong.
For starters, stay out of chat rooms. Nothing good comes from chat. Never go into a private chat room and never, never send a sexually explicit image of yourself to anyone.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Experienced sex crime lawyers are expensive and an arrest can be costly. Bonds are usually high getting arrested for a sex offense can ruin your life. Think twice before engaging in chat with someone that could be a law enforcement officer. If you have questions, contact my office for a free consultation
]]>It has always been a crime to pick up a hooker or a prostitute and have sex for money. Normally it is a simple misdemeanor and the punishment is usually a fine or at worst probation. If the working girl is seventeen however and you are over the age of twenty five you could find yourself facing a long prison sentence. In Florida it is a serious felony for an older man to have sex with a seventeen year old woman, even if she is a prostitute. In Sarasota, there have been a number of prosecutions all as a result of the testimony of one prostitute who was seventeen at the time she was engaging in sex for money.
It does not matter under current law if she even carried a fake ID or told the man that she was over twenty one. Normally, the age of consent in Florida is 16 but there is an exception that applies to seventeen year old girls and men over the age of twenty five. As crazy as this sounds, some men in Sarasota now find themselves facing long State prison sentences for simply having sex with a prostitute. It does not matter under the law if she had sex with many others. The State needs to exercise some discretion in these matters, particularly if the girl is a prostitute. If the man she picks up is twenty four years old, it is not a felony. If the man is twenty five he faces prison. How can that be justice?
The bottom line is, don't pick up hookers or even engage in sex for money with girls you meet on the Internet if they are even remotely underage. Even if they have an ID, it could be false and you could find yourself in deep trouble.
If you have been arrested for solicitation or some other sex crime in Lee County or elsewhere and you have a question, please don't hesitate to call for a free consultation. Let me hear your views on this subject. As an sex crime lawyer I might be able to help
]]>The Supreme Court today ruled that attaching a GPS device to a suspect's car in the absence of a search warrant was a violation of the Fourth Amendment. The police have been routinely attaching tracking devices to the cars of suspected criminals. The police, prior to this decision could attach a device to see if a person met with a child for the purposes of underage sex. They could obtain a detailed report of movement and then use it as evidence.
Until this decision, the police could also use this device to determine if a registered sex offender traveled within a prohibited area. The Probation Department already has been using this to track registered sex offenders. In those cases, the sex offenders are already wearing tracking devices so there is no violation of the law.
The decision today really analyzes the right to privacy as it relates to electronic tracking. I encourage you to go online and read this landmark decision. Although to date most of the tracking involves drug or terrorist cases, it can easily be applied to those sex crime cases where tracking devices are used.
Today was a great day for the Fourth Amendment and the right to privacy. If you have questions or want to comment contact us or reply to this blog. As a criminal defense attorney the right to privacy is paramount.
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