15 year old boy handed 15 life sentences in rapes - sentence modified to 65 years

(Original Post 3-14-10) A 15 year old boy was sentenced to 15 life terms Wednesday, March 10 for raping and kidnapping two Apollo Beach restaraunt workers. Jose Walle, 13 when he attacked the woman, entered a blind plea to 19 felony counts last month.

The women were abducted from the Apollo Beach restaurant Aug. 15, 2008, held for several hours and repeatedly sexually assaulted before being dumped along Interstate 75. One said Walle got in the back seat of her truck, pointed a gun at her and raped her.

One of the victims said in her impact statement, "There was no doubt in my mind that he would kill us. He chose to rob us. He chose to abduct us. He was the one who raped me." The other victim said that "I think he should be shown the same mercy he showed us - none."

Walle's parents, friends, soccer coach and attorney, as well as a psychiatrist hired by the defense, portrayed him as a youth soccer star who got caught up in drugs and came under the sway of bad influences - co-defendants Rigoberto Martinez, 22, and Vincente Reyes-Carbajal, 21, who are awaiting trial.

Walle's explanation of his attack on the women was "I was angry. I was on drugs."

But Assistant State Attorney Rita Peters said Walle laughed and smiled his way through a presentence interview with a state corrections official. Walle told the official, "I'm a nice guy, but if you mess with me I have no problems killing you," Peters quoted from the report.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge Chet Tharpe used those statements to justify his 15 life sentences. This is one of the most disturbing cases I have ever come across...If he is not stopped, he is going to do it again. And, quite frankly, I'm not willing to take that chance. It is my intention that you never ever walk the streets of our community again as a free man. He's going to kill; it's just a matter of time."

Walle's life sentences will be served concurrently to one another and consexutively with a 27 year sentence handed down for the rape of a third woman. Two other Florida youths have been jailed for life without parole terms for non-murder crimes committed at 13.

(Update 5-21-11) After a 2010 US Supreme Court ruling stating that juveniles cannot be sentenced to life without parole for crimes other than murder, Judge Tharpe resentenced Walle to 65 years imprisonment on Wednesday, November 17, 2010. Judge Tharpe said at Walle's second sentencing, "Jose Walle knew the difference between right and wrong. He has forfeited his right to live in a free society."

After listening to both sides re-present arguments made during the first sentencing, Judge Tharpe said to the defense, "Let me start out by saying, what's wrong with this picture? Shouldn't our focus be first and foremost on the welfare of the victims? Is it not cruel and unusual punishment for the victims to have endured the rage, the brutality, the terror that your client exacted upon them? What about the fact that these ladies have to live the rest of their lives worrying about whether or not they will become a victim again of another person like Jose Walle …Isn't that cruel and unusual punishment?"

Tharpe also gave the opinon that the juvenile justice system does not give enough accountability to youths convicted of serious crimes and that "grave crimes bring grave sentences.""Why don't we focus our money and our resources and our time on fixing the problems as opposed to trying to coddle a Jose Walle?"

"Boyfriend" sentenced to life without parole for running over woman on Jacksonville, FL street

A man who deliberately ran over his "girlfriend", crushing her bones so badly that they "resembled sand" was sentenced to life without parole in a Jacksonville, FL courtroom a week ago today. Circuit Judge Mark Hulsey sentenced Giacinto Martin, now 34, for a count of attempted murder for pushing mother of two Mary Wilkie out of a car she was driving and running her over last July in Jacksonville.

Martin pushed Wilkie out of the car, ran over her, backed over her and then ran her over again. He maintained it was an accident. The two had left a bar that night and Wilkie drove because Martin was drunk.

Police said Martin left Wilkie on Anniston Road just off Beach Boulevard to die in the middle of the night. During a break in his interview with detectives, he was caught on video saying to himself, “If I was going to run her over, I’d make sure she was dead but I’d never do that.”

According to the victim's mother Judith Wilkie, her daughter is still in a wheelchair relrning how to walk, and medicial bills from her recovery have topped $1.4 million. Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda said that the $1.4 million was the highest amount he has seen for medical costs resulting from crimes he has prosecuted.

Before Judge Hulsey sentenced Martin, Martin asked for a term which would allow him to attempt to pay off the victim's bills. “I have nightmares every single night about this. I swear to you. I swear to God. I swear to everybody in my life I’d never hurt her.”

However, Hulsey said, “There are cases where lenience is called for. This isn’t one of them. I hope that God has mercy on your soul, to be honest with you.”

Green card marriage leads to murder of wife, life without parole for husband

A Jamaican national who married a Florida woman to gain residency easier was sentenced to life without parole Wednesday, March 2, 2011. Orane Ferguson, 31 and a resident of Land O Lakes, FL, was convicted by a Pasco County jury of 1st degree murder for stabbing his wife, Lenora Michelle Ferguson, 50 times in the bathroom of their home. Ferguson was also convicted of aggravated battery for stabbing the murder victim's minor son, Gabriel Neal. Since prosecutors did not seek the death penalty,  Circuit Judge Michael Andrews could only sentence the defendant to life without parole.

The Kingston, Jamaica native testified that he was in Florida for a four month visa to attend his brother's funeral when he met the victim, who went by her middle name. The woman suggested that she would help Ferguson obtain permanent residency in the United States by marrying him, while he supported her and her son. According to defense attorney Assistant Public Defender Willie Pura, Ferguson was met with increasing demands by his wife, including sex and impregnation, and threatened to withdraw her immigration help if he did not comply. Things boiled over on July 20, 2008.

The Fergusons argued that Sunday morning before heading to church in Lakeland. A second argument broke out after they returned home that afternoon. This time it turned violent. Orane Ferguson grabbed knives and so did Neal, who heard his mother screaming and ran downstairs to help her.

Eventually, Michelle Ferguson ran into a bathroom. Her husband forced his way in and began stabbing her. Neal ran to the door with a knife and began trying to attack his stepfather. Orane Ferguson stabbed him in the mouth, chest and thumb. The boy collapsed but managed to run outside and get help. Orane Ferguson testified that he doesn't remember stabbing his wife.

In closing arguments, Pura said that the events of 2008 should be considered manslaughter, since"There is simply no evidence of premeditation." Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis "How long does it take to get some knives, chase her into the bathroom, knock down this door and stab her 50 times? Is that enough time for reflection? I submit that's more than enough time for reflection."

The victim's sister Lakeisha Robinson, said that she remembers Michelle as a loving and caring mother. "The only thing she did wrong was marry the wrong man."

Father of four sent away for life for raping woman he met on sugar daddy website

A man who lured a 22 year old woman he met on a sugar daddy website into rape was sentenced to life without parole by Orange Circuit Judge Walter Komanski Wednesday, February 9. Father of four Marcelo Augusto Alves misrepresented himself as Mark Garcia, even using a fake picture, and communicated with the 22 year old Tampa victim before arranging a meeting with her in the Dr. Phillips area of Orlando outside of a multimillion dollar home March 2009.

 "He was wearing a mask and had a knife in his hand and tackled her to the ground and he raped her," said Assistant State Attorney Kelly Hicks. The mask was pantyhose over his face. Alves put a knife to the victim's throat and tackled her to the ground before raping her.  Alves was charged with, then convicted for four counts of sexual battery. His attorney argued that only one act of rape occured, but Alves was convicted on all four counts.

In the victim impact statement, read by Hicks, she said, "I trusted him as Mark and didn't think something like this could have happened...Marcelo royally screwed me up...Now I understand the term, 'sexual predator.'" "He is a monster who deserves to go away for the rest of his life," Hicks said.

Man who slept with, pimped grown daughter out sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, 15 years sex offender probation - daughter sentenced to probation

(Original Post 5-2-10)

A Palm Coast, FL man who prostituted and had sex with his grown daughter was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and 15 years of sex offender probation Friday, April 30. Alton Smith, 47, was sentenced after pleading guilty to two counts of incest, one count of living off the earnings of prostitution and 52 counts of possession of child pornography. After completion of prison, Smith will be subject to lifetime monitoring under Jessica's Law and civil commitment under Florida's Jimmy Ryce Act.

The incest and prostitution counts were due to his pimping (and having sex with) his daughter Kristilyn. The incest led to a 3 year old son who is now in state custody. Because the incest happened in the presence of their son at their former business, Hot Shots A1A Models and Photography, one of the charges Smith plead guilty to was lewd and lascivious exhibition in the presence of a minor under 16.

A suspicious advertisement for an escort service led investigators to arrest Kristilyn Smith for prostitution on Dec. 12 [2008]. Alton Smith also was charged with being a principal to prostitution and was given a notice to appear in court.  According to a police report, Smith admitted his daughter occasionally worked as a paid escort and he told police that those who answered his Internet ads usually would photograph or film his daughter in the nude.

When Flagler investigators returned to the Smiths' Palm Coast home with a search warrant later in December, they said they found photos of "hundreds" of children posed nude or engaged in sex acts.

Officials also arrested Smith's wife, Tina Marie Smith, 44, who is his daughter's stepmother. Tina Marie Smith had been jailed for 15 months until last month when she struck a deal, pleading guilty to aggravated child abuse in exchange for prosecutors dropping 37 counts of possession of child pornography against her. She was sentenced to 10 years sex offender probation and will not be listed as a sex offender.

Kristilyn will be sentenced at a later date for 3 counts of incest, prostitution, and child neglect.

(Update 11-23-10) Last Monday, November 16, Kristilyn was sentenced to 5 years probation in a Daytona Beach courtroom for a single charge of incest.  Flagler County, FL Circuit Judge Kim C. Hammond dropped a second incest charge and a child neglect charge. Volusia County sentenced Kristilyn to 15 years probation for another incest charge. This concludes the criminal proceedings against her.

Sushi chef serial rapist gets 40 years with 34 to serve

A former sushi chef who was convicted of raping women in the Miami and Miami Beach areas was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment with at least 34 to serve by a Miami Dade court Monday, November 1. 31 year old Arturo Ortiz-Soto plead guilty to 2 counts of rape and two counts of attempted rape under Judge Ellen Sue Venzer, sparinig himself a maximum sentence of 140 years.

Ortiz-Soto worked as a sushi chef at various Miami Beach restaurants, the last a rooftop sushi bar at the Gansevoort South Hotel. His spree included:

• Raping a woman he met outside Jerry's Famous Deli in November 2006. Claiming he owned his own sushi restaurant, Ortiz-Soto bought her a calzone then lured her to an alleyway off 14th Street and Collins Avenue.

• Raping a woman in an alley off Collins Avenue and Ninth Street. Ortiz-Soto spied her leaving Mango's Tropical Cafe and lured her into the alley by promising to sell her marijuana. ``Forgive me, I'm sorry,'' he told the woman after the attack, before running off.

• Attempting to rape a woman he met at The Office bar in September 2007. He brutally beat her in an alley off Fourth Street -- after offering her pizza -- but the woman was able to break free.

• Trying to rape a woman in an alley off Collins Avenue and 14th Street in July 2008. He punched the woman several times but was scared off by the screams of a passerby.

After the last attack, police officers saw Ortiz-Soto jump into a taxi with blood covered clothes, and surveillance cameras captured him to the act. According to prosecutor Ivonne Sanchez-Ledo, the perp left DNA evidence in the two rape cases. Ortiz-Soto confessed to the crimes after his arrest. Sanchez-Ledio and defense attorney Christopher DeCoste agreed to a three decade sentence, but Judge Venzer rejected that sentence as being too lenient., leading to the 40 year plea bargain. "You have irreparably changed the lives of your victims by your behavior.I do believe this sentence will sufficiently guarantee you do no more harm to our citizens.''

Hialeah, FL armed robber gets 30 years for robbery, rape, kidnapping

A Hialeah, FL rapist and robber was sentenced to 30 years in prison by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Ellen Sue Venzer on Tuesday, September 14, 2010 after pleading guilty to a crime spree which included burglary, robbery, and rape. Jeosvany Salas was caught after DNA evidence left at the attacks matched his profile.

The crimes Salas plead guilty to involved:

Tying up and robbing a 73-year-old Miami woman in a September 2007 robbery that police said was a case of mistaken identity. Through forensic science, again, a fingerprint found on a piece of Scotch tape doomed Salas.

Kidnapping a Miami-Dade pawn shop owner in August 2008, holding him hostage for nine hours. Salas was nailed when his DNA was found on a beer bottle he drank from inside the victim's home.

Taking a Hialeah mother hostage in May 2008, shooting her with a stun gun and sexually assaulting her. It was that final act that broke the case: Saliva swabbed off the victim's chest matched Salas' DNA.

Salas was set to go to trial on the attack on the 73 year old woman, and was facing 21 life sentences in all, but plead after prosecutors filed the rape case. The attack on the woman occured after Salas and other robbers mistook her home for a Cuban human trafficer's. The rape case started out as a kidnapping and robbery, where Salas and his gang tied up the mother and her daughter while ransacking their home looking for electronics and jewerly. The rape occured after Salas asked the mother for a kiss and licked her body. The pawn show owner was beaten for hours while the robbers tried to get him to hand over his secuirty codes. Police caught Salas after noticing his SUV outside the pawn shop.

"Diaper Man" gets house arrest for duping women into feeding, cleaning him

A Port St. John, FL man with a diaper fetish was sentenced to a year of house arrest, four years of (regular) probation, and a mental health evaluation Monday, August 9 by Brevard County Judge Robert Wohn. The Brevard County State Attorney's Office charged 40 year old Sean Kelly of stiffing female caregivers out of money he promised them caring for him. His crimes occurred in 2008 and 2009, and he portrayed himself as a mentally challenged man who was incontinent and had the emotional capacity of a 5 year old. He was officially charged with organized fraud of less than $20,000.

According to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, Kelly sometimes would hire women through postings on Craigslist.org. He would call them pretending to be the brother of the disabled man who needed care.

Kelly would then show up and pretend to be the man with the disability. The ruse was exposed when a caregiver's husband saw him get into a car and drive off. Lt. Tod Goodyear, who heads the sex crimes unit of the sheriff's office, said he believed Kelly had a fetish where adults want to be fed from bottles and wear diapers. "Online, we have found, there are groups that cater to this kind of fetish," Goodyear said.

One of the victims said that after she was tricked into feeding, bathing and cleaning Kelly, "I have to live with this for the rest of my life, this shame." Prosecutor Don Loughran said that Kelly likely had other victims, "but I think they are too embarrassed to come forward. What this man did was despicable."

During his sentencing, Kelly said that "An apology might not be enough. But . . . for my part, I apologize."

"Boyfriend" who strangled woman to death with bra sentenced to 45 years

A man with a long history of mental illness was sentenced to 45 years behind bars for the 2nd degree murder of his "girlfriend," who he strangled to death with her own bra. Circuit Judge F. Rand Wallis imposed the sentence on Orlando, FL resident Abdullah Khalig as the result of a guilty plea to 2nd degree murder in the death of Lolitta Flores February last year. The sentencing range was between 30 and 45 years.

Khalig described a long history of drug use and mental illness. But he admitted to strangling Flores with a bra. He said the voices came in his sleep. He woke up, reached over and started strangling her, he said.

"What I remember that night, I was hearing voices and I couldn't control myself," the 38 year old said in court this morning. "They were telling me to strangle her. I strangled her with the bra," he said. 49 year old Flores, a victim of Khalig's violence according to a December 2008 DV complaint, was last seen alive February 21, 2009.

He went away to use drugs and told a friend what happened. The friend contacted police, who arrested Khalig. The perpetrator led authorities to Flores' nude body, bra still around her neck, who had been dead about a week. Police believe she was murdered the night of February 22-23, 2009.  "I just needed to let it out. I felt bad for what I did. I'm thinking clearly now. I'd just like to apologize to the family and the friends."

Initially, Khalig denied killing Flores to authorities, but he later confessed. Khalig said he suffers from schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder. A psychiatric evaluation, however, determined Khalig's condition did not meet the legal requirements of an insanity plea. And all parties agreed Khalig was competent to make his guilty plea.

Khalig asked for a 30-year sentence. So did his defense attorney, Marc Burnham, who told the judge that no matter what his sentence, Khalig would be an old man if he makes it out of prison. [He]described a long history of drug use — including crack cocaine and heroin — and mental illness. He said he was homeless before staying with Flores, who held a steady job as manager for a telemarketing company. He added that they used drugs together. And he openly admitted to strangling Flores with a bra.

Phillip Marion Warren, the half brother of Flores, who experienced her as a mother figure, asked for the maximum sentence. "You took away my mother.I know he's accepted responsibility. Do I forgive him, your honor? Yes, I do. I also believe he deserves the maximum time he can get."

Assistant State Attorney Jim Altman also asked for the maximum. "You took that bra and wrapped it around her neck until you were sure she was dead?" "Yes sir," Khalig responded.

After the sentencing, Warren said, "The judge listened. He gave us the 45-year maximum. We were very happy with that."

Lehigh Acres, FL woman sentenced to 25 years prison, 10 years probation for murder of sleeping husband

A Lehigh Acres, FL woman who murdered her husband while he was sleeping then staged a phony abduction of her self and her kids was sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by 10 years probation Monday, April 26, in a Lee County courtroom. The woman plead guilty to 2nd degree murder in the attack on her husband took place August 11, 2008. Child abuse charges, for the phony abduction story, were dropped as part of the plea deal. The phony abduction took place  with the help of Amber duct taping her kids. The husband suffered 6 gunshot wounds to the head.

Amber Rose Roberts, [then] 24, had at first told Lee County sheriff's deputies that she and her two young children had been kidnapped. That was how she explained why they were walking in the area of Greenbriar Boulevard while her husband, John Roberts, 27, was dead in bed, having suffered from multiple gunshot wounds.

But according to detective William Murphy, the stories Amber Roberts told didn't add up.

"When confronted with the inconsistencies, Amber Roberts confessed to shooting John Roberts multiple times with a .9 mm handgun," Murphy reported. "She also confessed that the alleged kidnapping was false. The information provided by Roberts was consistent with the physical evidence gathered at the scene. Amber Roberts also escorted detectives to multiple locations and additional evidence was recovered."

One of those locations was the canal at the corner of 32nd Street West and Ann Avenue, where deputies found the gun.

John Roberts' body was found by a deputy who arrived at the couple's 16th Street West home to serve eviction papers. Their home had been in foreclosure. They had lived there with their 7-month-old son and Amber's 5-year-old son.

The victim's cousin, Robbin Brophy said that two weeks before the murder at a family function, things seemed to be going smoothly and asked this pointed question of her cousin's killer. “Who made you judge, jury and executioner of John’s life? Do you realize how many lives you have ruined?” Brophy also said that "If there was a problem, you could have come to any one of us.” Brophy was one of almost 20 family members of the victim present. Assistant State Attorney Dan Feinberg said they would have liked to have seen a harsher sentence, but understand the criminal justice system.

Amber Roberts said little except to answer mostly yes and no questions from prosecutors.[She] had planned on using battered wife syndrome as a defense, and she said she agreed with the strategy of her attorney, David Goldberg, who didn’t take the deposition of law enforcement officers in the case. Instead, he deposed rebuttal witnesses who could testify about that defense.

“I was just going by what he was looking at in my best interests,” was the lengthiest statement Amber Roberts said.Goldberg said the battered spouse syndrome was a viable defense, but the plea was in her best interests.

The son she had before her marriage with her victim is in the care of relatives. The whereabouts of the child she had with her victim is unknown. Amber should be released in a little under 20 years, assuming she gets all of her good time credits.

Man who strangled wife to death with belt sentenced to 30 years imprisonment

A man who strangled his wife to death with a belt was sentenced to 30 years in a Tallahassee, FL, courtroom Monday, April 26. Daniel Tappen murdered his wife Kimberly inside their southeast Tallahassee, FL home in 2008. After a 6 day trial, and five hours of deliberation, Tappen was convicted of 2nd degree murder by a jury on March 10 of this year. The main reason that Tappen was convicted of 2nd and not 1st degree murder was defense evidence showing that Kim had a high level of cocaine in her body and the insistence that Kim's death was suicide.

During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors asked for life without parole. Kim's mother, Lynn Delay, brought her dead daughter's childhood teddy bear, saying the bear was "still very much loved just like his owner." Kim's sister Cheryl Phillips said that "It has been almost two years now and I just want to stop crying, but I can't, it hurts so much."

 "Danny is a kind and harmless man. There is not an unkind bone in his body. Throughout our entire marriage, he never said no to me," says Daniel's ex-wife Mary Jane Tappen.  Through tears, his mother turned her attention from the Judge to Daniel. "We know that you didn't do this son and we love you very much."

The defendant will be eligible for early release after serving 25 1/2 years in the Florida Department Of Corrections. He hopes to be incarcerated in Wakulla Correctional Institute, 20 miles from Tallahassee.

Man gets 7 years for hatchet attack on wife - judge not amused by "alibi"

A Port Richey, Florida man was sentenced to 7 years in prison followed by 3 years of probation last Friday, April 16, after attacking his wife with a hatchet, and trying to pretend to jurors at his trial that the attack was accidental, coming after he attempted to move furniture.

On June 8, 2008, investigators say, [now 43 year old Daniel]Stuckey attacked his wife at their home at 10018 Old Orchard Lane in Port Richey. The couple's two daughters - Dominique, 16, and Danielle, 9 - testified during the one-day trial that they were in bed with their mother at the time of the incident, . Dominique Stuckey awoke and saw their father carrying the hatchet toward their mother and, screaming, the girl tried to stop him.

Antoinette said she woke up because of the screaming and that her husband started swinging and cursing at her.

Stuckey said that while the argument heated up, he had the hatchet, used to move furniture, in his hand, and it dropped and hit her arm. Stuckey could not explain why there was a gash above her eye.

Prosecutors asked for the maximum sentence, 15 years for the 2nd degree Florida felony, while defense attorneys asked for a downward departure. It appeared that Stuckey got off, as he was convicted of the aggravated battery charge after acquittal of a more serious attempted murder charge, which carried a 30 year maximum.

Pasco County Circuit Judge Michael Andrews berated Stuckey for sticking to his story even after his conviction. "I simply cannot buy this argument that you continue to make that you didn't intend to use the hatchet," .It just doesn't make any sense whatsoever." He continued after sentencing. "I wish I could show you how I could move furniture with a hatchet," Stuckey said, before being led off into the Florida Department Of Corrections.

Woman sentenced to life without parole for shooting ex-"girlfriend" after argument

A Manatee, FL woman who was convicted of killing her ex-"partner" was sentenced to life without parole Friday, March 19. Cynthia Monson, 51, was sentenced to the mandatory life without parole term for the murder of her ex, Patricia Thomas January 2009. While Monson's attorney claimed self-defense, Assistant State Attorney Art Brown said that Monson's re-enactment of the killing proved intent to kill.

“Even though she claimed she was in fear ... she kept adjusting her arm so she could shoot her in the head. It really became clear that it was done with intent and not in self-defense.”

At the time of her arrest, Monson told detectives she and Thomas had been arguing about their past relationship and custody of a child they adopted together.

Monson told detectives that she bought a gun on Jan. 13 after several arguments with Thomas in the weeks prior to the shooting. Four days later Thomas arrived at Monson’s home, in the 6400 block of Second Avenue Northeast, and they argued.

Thomas claimed to have a gun in her vehicle and Monson “determined at that time that it was her or the victim,” sheriff’s reports state. Prosecutors say Monson then opened fire on her ex-girlfriend with the revolver she had obtained days prior. Sheriff’s report say she shot Thomas five times, including in the back of the head.

The Manatee County jury took only two hours to convict Monson. The victim and perp were a couple for a dozen years, up until just before the shooting.

Florida woman - sex predators target women as well as kids

This letter to the editor of the St. Petersburg (FL) Times shows the societal unwillingness to face up to the fact that sexual predators target women as well as kids. I agree 100% with this Florida woman's rant.

I cannot express enough how angry I am when I read an article like the one in the paper Wednesday regarding child sex offenders. The headline asks Have sex-offender laws made children safer? Instead I ask, Have they ever made women in Florida safer? The answer is no.

The term "sex offender" has been used by Florida politicians following the tragic death of Jessica Lunsford, and in turn by Florida newspapers. Such an emotionally charged term leads to the general public's immediate yet mistaken assumption that anyone legally registered as a sex offender is a child sex abuser, when in fact most registered sex offenders were convicted of sexually assaulting women.

I find it shameful that Jessica Lunsford's death resulted in an onslaught of politicians clamoring to be the first ones to show their support for a bill protecting Florida's youth. Does no one care enough about the incidence of rape against women in the state of Florida to think to protect them?

This article only barely addressed the issue of the misuse of the term "sex offender" as a catch-all term when it stated the concerns of Jennifer Dritt of the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence.

The council's Web site reports that 11,214 forcible sex offenses were reported in Florida in 2007 (statistics provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement) and only 3,064 arrests were made for said forcible sex offenses in 2007. The incidence of children as victims is significantly lower than that of women as victims.

All Floridians should look inside themselves and ask: What about the women of Florida? Don't they deserve protection against sex offenders too? This is an issue that our Legislature should address.

Stacey Kroto, Pinellas Park

Brevard County Detention Center inmate gets 2 years for role in gang rape

Brevard County Detention Center inmate Phillip McCullough, 24, was sentenced to 2 years in prison Friday, February 12, for helping three other jail inmates restrain and rape a fourth inmate.

According to Brevard County Sheriff's Office reports, the victim twice lost consciousness as the four men hogtied him in his cell with bed linens, slammed his head against a wall and choked him with a mesh laundry bag while one of them assaulted him.

Spokeswoman Lynne Bumpus-Hooper of the Florida state's attorney's office said that "the victim wasn't interested in testifying. He said he would be satisfied if Mr. McCullough received some punishment for the act."
 
The 2 years for the rape conviction - actually felony counts of battery and false imprisonment - will be served concurrently to other sentences for felony convictions. These sentenes include 40 years for attempted murder and five years for helping a convicted triple murderer smuggle a gun into the Brevard County Detention Center.
 
Court records show that McCullough still faces prosecution on a felony home invasion charge.

He rejected a plea deal last month that would have allowed him to serve 40 years for six felony cases and shielded him from additional prison time on four homicides he's suspected in as long as he cooperates with investigations in those cases.

Another inmate has also pled guilty in the case. Terrance Coles, 22, of Jacksonville Beach, was sentenced to 19 months in prison. Two other inmates - Emanuel Edwards, 19, of Mims and Justin Heyne, 28, of Titusville, are awiating trial.

Tampa Bay area sheriff's deputy sentenced to 5 years for sex assault of motorist

Circuit Judge Wayne S. Timmerman sentenced a former Hillsborough County deputy to 5 years in prison and 10 years of sex offender probation Thursday, December 10. Raymond Choy, 38,  faced 30 years for sexual battery and another 30 years for kidnapping before the plea deal. Choy's attorney, Normal Canella Sr, said that his client's deal was appropriate "in view of the totality of circumstances. My client is pleased and certainly should be pleased by the outcome."

Assistant State Attorney Rita Peters said prosecutors decided to offer the deal after reviewing all the circumstances in the case. Peters said she explained the agreement to the victim.

Authorities say Choy was investigating a hit-and-run when the assault happened on April 1, 2007. He ran the license plate of the car that drove away and went to the owner's home, where he took a woman into custody.

She told investigators that Choy took her to the accident scene and then drove to orange groves in Thonotosassa, telling her she wouldn't be arrested if she cooperated. She immediately called the sheriff's office after Choy took her back home. Investigators took samples from the woman's hair and arm. Choy's DNA matched those swabs.

Choy, a seven-year veteran, was placed on administrative leave before resigning.

The victim, flanked by her boyfriend, said that Choy "ruined my life. As a deputy, he was there to protect and serve. He didn't do that."

Baseball bat attacker of woman, child sentenced to 40 years behind bars

A man who beat his "girlfriend" and her son, leaving the woman's mother as her grandson's guardian and her daughter's caregiver was sentenced to 40 years in prison Thursday, December 3, in an Alachua County, FL courtroom. Daniel Steven Fucci, 46, was sentenced for the baseball bat attack on Debra Charlene Wyrosdick, 45, and her son Andrew, 7, leaving them both in a pool of blood.

Earlier, Fucci plead guilty to attempted murder, aggravated child abuse, and felony fleeing. He plead to , in his words, spare the child from having to testify in a jury trial. Fucci also atempted to justify his attack on the woman and her child, saying that "It was 50-50. She attacked me and I fought back," Fucci told Judge James Nilon. "We'd both been drinking a lot and arguing. I had no intention of hurting her - I was trying to get the knife away from her."

When an ambulance crew arrived, they reported finding Wyrosdick unconscious on the floor with Andrew on top of her and both appeared to be dying in the kitchen that was covered in blood.

Wyrosdick's mother, Ruby Wyrosdick, who is now Debra's caretaker and guardian of her son, testified that Debra received massive brain injuries and "still needs more therapy than we can afford. She will likely need assistance for the rest of her life."

Ruby Wyrosdick also said that her daughter remained in a coma until late 2008 and then spent about 10 months in an assisted living facility before moving in with Ruby. "Half of her head appears caved in," Ruby Wyrosdick said.

Fucci claimed that he still "loves" his victim, saying that "I would be her slave for life because I still love her," Fucci said. "I accidentally hit her in the head. It was self-defense. I was trying to stop her from coming at me with a knife." Judge Nilon said that the baseball bat injuries were too forceful to be self-defense, and that Fucci's behavior pattern was entrenched for 10 years, and he was "certainly old enough to have sought and received help for this pattern of behavior."

Among the other factors that Nilon said he considered before sentencing Fucci was a pre-sentence investigation showing that Fucci had a long history of violent behavior and statements from two of Fucci's sisters who asked for leniency.

The sisters told Nilon that Fucci had been physically, mentally and sexually abused by another of their brothers while they were growing up and that Fucci had a history of getting involved with damaged women who drew him into their dramas.

Psychologist Dr. Harry Krop testified that he had examined Fucci three times since the crimes and determined that Fucci abused alcohol, has a personality disorder with narcissistic and obsessive traits, had indicators of bipolar disorder and that there were apparent features of post traumatic stress disorder.

Because all inmates must serve at least 85% of their prison sentences, Fucci will serve at least 34 years and will be 80 when he gets out.

Woman's murderous "boyfriend" sentenced to life without parole

A man who choked his "girlfriend" to death because she was seeing her ex was sentenced to life without parole yesterday in a Tallahassee, FL courtroom. Thirty-six year old Terrell Lee Robinson plead guilty to the 1st degree murder of pregnant 25 year old Elisabeth Killam in a Tallahassee, FL apartment on September 23. The choking took 5 to 6 minutes, according to Robinson's police statement. When she tried to scream, Robinson stuffed napkins in Killiam's mouth. Robinson took medicine to commit suicide, but was found semiconscious.

The victim's family members attended Robinson's sentencing, which was to a mandatory life without parole sentence. “I often have to beg God to take the image of Elisabeth out of my mind. The pain of that knowledge is debilitating,” said Killiam's sister.

“What we fervently hope is that Terrell Robinson will not be allowed out of prison again,” Barbara Killam told Circuit Judge Terry Lewis in speaking on behalf of her daughter. “Now we live in a constant state of struggle to try to grasp that she is gone. We have lost our joy in life.”

David Killam, told Lewis that if his daughter were alive today, “she would tell you in no uncertain terms that justice has not been served.”

Robinson plead guilty to the murder to avoid facing a possible death penalty. According to Assistant State Attorney Jack Campbell, the 2 1/2 months between the crime and sentencing was “the fastest resolution in a first-degree murder case (he’d) ever heard of.”

Robinson's reason for pleading guilty against his public defender's advice was “I’d like to get on with it. Nobody needs to be run through the mud. Every time we go through this, her body continues to be drug through the grave.”

Florida mom's killer, rapist found guilty - jurors recommend death penalty, judge hands it down

(Original Post 8-30-09)

The murderer of a Florida mother of two will face the same jury which convicted him last Friday to learn whether his death inside prison will come through an executioner's needle, or by natural (or inmate) causes. Thirty-eight year old Michael King, a plumber (or more accurately, former plumber) and dad of two, was convicted of the January 17, 2008 kidnapping, rape, and murder of 21 year old Denise Amber Lee, a detective's daughter, from her own home. The Florida Jury deliberated for 2 1/2 hours Friday, August 28 before finding Michael King guilty as charged.

Lee was kidnapped from her own home that winter afternoon after breastfeeding her sons. She made sure that the boys were left behind unharmed before King trained his gun on her.

Witnesses, including King's cousin, help determine the movements of King before and during the kidnapping. Jennifer Eckert, 24, saw the green Camaro King drove circle the neighborhood between 1 & 2 PM before King abducted his victim. Harold Muxlow, King's cousin, stated King stopped by his house to borrow a flashlight, gas can, and shovel. Muxlow also heard Lee say "call the cops" but King told his cousin it was nothing.

The most damming evidence came from calls Lee made after she grabbed her captor's cell phone. Like a detective's daughter, Lee used the phone to tell police that she was benng kidnapped.

Lee used one of King's cell phones to call 911 as she was driven across three counties. As the six-minute tape was played for the jury, her voice sounded tremulous at times, and frantic at others.
The call came in at 6:14 p.m. on January 17. A 911 operator repeatedly said "Hello," and Lee was heard pleading with her captor: "I'm sorry. I just want to see my family. ... I just want to see my family again. Please. ... Oh please, I just want to see my family again. Let me go."

The man, whose voice was identified in court as King's, cursed at her for trying to attract attention. A radio played loudly in the background. The 911 operator asked her address. Eventually, Lee managed to say, "My name is Denise. I'm married to a beautiful husband and I just want to see my kids again. ... Please, God, please protect me."

The 911 operator asked where she was, and then whether she knew the man. The operator asked if she knew her location. "Please just take me to my house. Can you take me home?" Lee said. The connection was then lost.

Sixteen minutes later, driver Jane Kowalski called 911 to report what she thought was a child abduction. She said she was stopped at a light and could hear screaming from another car "and not a happy scream, a get-me-out-of-here scream."

She testified that she saw someone banging on the car window, slapping her hand hard to demonstrate. "It was very loud," she told the jury. "It was completely horrific, terrified, panicky. I can't think of enough words, it was terrible."

She followed the car for a while, but lost it. Police quickly traced Lee's call to King's cell phone, and were looking for him. But Kowalski's call was never passed on to officers.

The victim took off of her wedding ring and pulled out her hair, leaving more evidence behind. Thar hair, blood, duct tape, and semen were collected from King's Camaro and his home and helped link the perpetrator to his victim. The defense never disputed that the rape and kidnapping occurred, but tried to absolve their client of the murder by stating only gun shells were found, not the actual weapon.

The death penalty phase of the trial will start Tuesday.

During that penalty phase, jurors will hear from King and Lee’s families.Two of King’s brothers will ask that he be spared the death penalty because he has no history of violence and he is the father of a 12-year-old boy.

Lee’s family, including her widower Nate Lee and her father Rick Goff, will ask that King be put to death. The men will talk about how Lee doted over her two sons, Adam, 2, and Noah, 3 1/2.
The jury will recommend a sentence, and the final decision rests with Judge Deno Economou, who will give a great deal of weight to the jury’s recommendation.

This is what the victim's parents had to say after the guilty verdict.

Susan Goff said "I just feel like a big weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. Justice was served." Rick Goff, the Charlotte County detective, said that "The next step we're going to go up there and watch him get the needle put in his arm -- sending him to the place where he belongs -- totally opposite from the place Denise is at. That's where we want him, and we can't send him there fast enough."

(Update 9-6-09) Florida jurors voted unanimously to send King to death row, taking less than three hours to do so. Jurors were not impressed by the defense's view that a childhood sledding accident damaged King's brain and caused poor impulse control. Jurors credited the 911 call by Denise and King's borrowing of tools needed to bury Denise after shooting her to death as factors in handing down the death recommendation.

Pat O'Quinn, one of the jurors, stated that "I think he gave her a death sentence when he got the shovel, and the flashlight, and the gas can." A second juror, Marcia Burns, stated that the evidence Denise left behind played a major factor. "I don't know a normal person would be able to do that. The family needs to be extremely proud." Jury consultant Art Patterson also agreed with Burns' assessment.

"You have a smoking gun. The emotion of hearing a woman plead for her life. They get comfort in knowing this guy was so horrible and they know for sure what he was doing to her."

King was described as a good father of a 13-year-old son, a good boyfriend and a good plumber, who led a life as a good citizen until one terrible decision.

Juror Jean Burgess said the decision to convict was quick and overwhelming; the decision to send King to his death was equally decisive -- but more difficult to make.

Nancy Bates, the victim's grandmother, stated that "Michael King is going to burn in hell. Forever and ever and ever." Rick Goff, the victim's father, stated that "I can't say enough. This is how the criminal justice system is supposed to work."

The death penalty vote is just a recommendation. King will be sentenced at a later date, but in Florida, judges are required to give "great weight" to a jury decision - something enhanced if that decision is unanimous.

(Update 12-5-09) King was formally sentenced to death by Judge Economou yesterday afternoon. In a hearing which went on for about half an hour, he weighed aggravating and mitigating factors. Aggravating factors which carried great weight included the murder being carried out after rape and kidnapping, being "especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel," which includes inflicting fear on the victim, and murders occuring in a "cold, calculated, premeditated" manner, and the murder occurred to eliminate a witness. 

Mitigating factors given moderate weight included that King was impaired due to a brain injury due to a sleeding accident back in 1978, and an IQ averaging around 80 and lack of previous criminal history. Mitigating factors given little weight included King being a responsible father and boyfriend, his divorce, and taking special needs classes as a minor.

The father of the victim said that justice was served in the case. "Justice is served. We had faith in the judicial system," Rick Goff, Lee's father said. "Without her, we'd still be looking for her, still be looking for him. She's the one that turned us onto him directly from her 911 call...I just want to tell Michael King you're a coward; you got what you deserved coming. And Denise is a lot better person than you and she's going to put you in the place where you belong, which I believe is hell, is where you're going to be."
Her mother, Susan Goff, said that King's death sentence would not give closure, but his execution would do so. "It isn't over. It won't be over until the day Michael King dies. That's the day we'll have closure."

Nathan Lee, Denise King's widower, said this in his statement below:

Today the man who kidnapped, raped and killed my wife, Denise Amber Lee, was sentenced to death. People have asked me if I'm happy about the sentencing. Happy isn't the right word. Whether he was sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty, that man's life is over. He can't destroy another family. That's justice for Denise and some closure for our family.


Denise should be alive today, going to soccer games, planning birthday parties and having date nights. But she's not and nothing is going to bring her back, which is something we have to live with every day.

We have some closure, and now we'll focus on making sure that Denise's death will not be in vain. Dispatchers on duty when my wife was killed failed to properly handle 911 calls that would have saved her life. Now I am working hard (through a foundation we started in her name) for a national standard in training, procedures and policies so that when you dial 911, you get the help you need.

Finally, I want to thank everyone, my family, Denise's family and our friends, for everything they have done to support and help us. I would also like to thank you, the media, for the respect you have shown to our family during this difficult time."

Man sentenced to 15 years after rape of woman at party - victim dies of drug overdose in May

A man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the sexual battery of a then 36 year old woman who later died of a drug overdose. James Cregger of New Port Richey, FL, was sentenced to the maximum for sexual battery by Pasco Circuit Judge Michael Andrews after 2 1/2 hours of jury deliberation yesterday. Cregger's "defense" was that his ex-wife made up the story to get back at him for deliquent child support payments.

The victim began the night of July 3, 2008, at her brother's New Port Richey apartment for a get-together. Cregger and his girlfriend were also at the party. The woman left after arguing with her boyfriend, telling her brother she was going to walk to a friend's house. Cregger had already left the party and gone to his nearby apartment.

Assistant State Attorney Chris Jensen said the woman met Cregger as she was walking to her friend's house and he was walking to a convenience store. Jensen said Cregger grabbed the victim, dragged her into the dark backyard of a house on Illinois Avenue and raped her on a beach chair. Cregger had lived at the house and knew its owner, Joseph Catania.

The victim eventually talked Cregger into letting her check on her child at home. She and Cregger were walking on Adams Street when [Deena] LaRossa's van approached.

LaRossa and her friends Stacy Davis and Betty Jo Tagerson, prosecution witnesses, saw a scared, barefoot, crying victim walking with Cregger early July 4, 2008. The women in the van stopped to talk to the victim, who whispered to LaRossa, "Please don't leave me. He just raped me." LaRossa helped the victim into the van.

Cregger testified that after an argument between the victim and her boyfriend, Cregger had consensual oral sex with the woman, who did so to get back at her boyfriend.

After the verdict, Cregger told Judge Andrews that he wasn't a rapist. "My only question through all of this has been: Why has my ex-wife and her ex-husband been making my life a living hell, and hunt me down and concoct this whole thing against me to put me away for 15 years?

Cregger's mother, Deborah Leder, said that she still believed her son was innocent. "I know deep down in my heart because I'm a Christian, and I know God knows that my son did not commit these hideous crimes."

"He's a good boy," The defendant's aunt, Judy Thomas said. She also promised that the family would fight for him.