Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

After investigating an alleged sexual relationship between a Nassau County teacher and one of his former students, police have cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing. The former student told police she kissed the teacher, but then had sex with the teacher after she turned 18, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Once a person turns 18, he or she is legally an adult and it is not a crime for another adult to have consensual sex with an 18-year-old. Technically, 16 is the consent age in the state of Florida, but the age of the sexual partner could make it a Nassau County Sex Crimes case.

The teacher, however, is still facing discipline from the Nassau County School Board and Yulee High School officials have recommended that the board vote to terminate him next month, according to the newspaper report. The investigation in this Nassau County Sex Crimes case started earlier this year after one of the student's friends said the student said she had sexual contact with the teacher at his home, the newspaper reported. The teacher has been on leave since, the newspaper reported. Had the student been 17 years old, the teacher could have faced a second-degree felony, depending on how old he is. If the teacher is over 24 and has sex with someone under the age of 18, he could be charged with unlawful sex with certain minors, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Equally important, if he was convicted or chose to plead guilty, he would more than likely become a registered sex offender.

Sex crime accusations can be the most difficult to live down and have a tendency to stick with people even if the accusations cannot be proven in court. And if there is a conviction or a plea, sex offenders are subjected to scrutiny and a public broadcasting of their crimes that even people convicted of murder do not experience. Every time a sex offender moves his or her residence, neighbors in a certain vicinity are notified of his or her presence and the crime he or she pleaded to or was convicted of. Sex offenders in Florida are required to notify police when they move and are restricted as to where they live, as it cannot be directly near a school or park where children congregate.

Sex Crimes cases can have serious consequences and our Nassau County Criminal Defense Attorney has represented hundreds of people accused of various sex crimes and knows the potential sentences and scrutiny that come with being a registered sexual offender. Our Nassau County Sex Crimes attorney can explain the consequences and allow you or your loved one to make an informed decision as to how to best move forward with the case.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Nassau County Sex Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A Jacksonville man turned himself into police last week, just hours after authorities publicly announced he was wanted on a Jacksonville sexual battery charge connected to a February rape in downtown Jacksonville. Police broadcast Jerry Gallion's name and photo in asking for the public's help in locating him last week, according to a report on First Coast News. That evening, Gallion turned himself in and the next morning he was in court, ordered to be held without bond in the case. Police said there have been four rapes in a five-block area downtown, all of homeless women, and there was one reported as recently as April 19, the television station reported.

Gallion has only been charged with one count of sexual battery in Duval County and one count of kidnapping, but police have said there are similarities in the four rapes that have been reported, according to the television news report. No doubt the police will now being trying to contact the other three victims in these Jacksonville Sex Crimes cases and determine if they can identify Gallion as the suspect in their assault as well. In Jacksonville Sex Crimes cases like Gallion's, where it is known that he may be a suspect in other cases, prosecutors will ask for the defendant to be held without bond, or ask for a high enough bond that it is unlikely the defendant will be able to post it and be released from jail. The state typically argues that the defendant is a flight risk, meaning he or she may be likely to skip town and not appear in court. And in many cases the judges agree. The initial bond is always set in first appearance court, where all defendants in Jacksonville Criminal Defense cases appear within 24 hours of their arrest. The key figure in a Jacksonville bond is 10 percent of the total - that's the amount that's typically needed to pay a bondsman to get someone out of jail. So, if someone has a $10,000 bond, a friend or family member can get the person released with $1,000 while the defendant waits for the case to be resolved.

The release comes with certain conditions, which typically include not leaving the state and not picking up any other criminal charges. If there is a violation, the state will almost certain ask for the bond to be revoked and for the judge to order the defendant back to jail. If the Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney feels the bond is too high, he or he can request a bond hearing to take a second look at the issue. In a bond hearing, both the state and the Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney have an opportunity to state their case and the judge makes the ultimate decision. In most cases, the judge issues some kind of bond, unless the charge is murder. The exact charges have not been filed in Gallion's case, but it appears likely he will be charged with capital sexual battery. Capital sexual battery in Duval County is the only charge other than murder to carry a mandatory life sentence in the state of Florida. If that ends up being the charge in this Jacksonville Sex Crimes case, Gallion may not get a bond and would likely be in jail until trial.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Jacksonville Sex Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A woman who used to substitute teach in St. Johns County middle and high schools was arrested last week, accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student. The arrest is the latest step in a long-running investigation into Stacey Slamka that started more than a year ago, according to a report by First Coast News. Slamka was fired last year after a parent showed Pedro Menendez High School officials text messages allegedly exchanged between Slamka and the parent's 16-year-old son, the television station reported.

Police had been waiting for electronic forensic evidence from the phones to come back and this month a judge signed warrants for Slamka's arrest. Warrants were issued for six counts, but so far she has only been charged with three counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. The charge is a second-degree felony in Florida punishable by up to 15 years in prison, so Slamka is looking at up to 45 years in prison - 90 years of all six charges end up being pursued in this St. Johns County Sex Crimes case. The law specifically addresses sex acts between a person over the age of 24 and a teen who is either 16 or 17. The law is intended to make consequences more severe for a larger age gap between the minor and the adult, differentiating this from a sexual relationship from two people who may be in the same high school and are 16 and 18, respectively. In this instance, they were in the same school - the difference is one was a teacher.

Slamka allegedly told police in her interview in this St. Johns County Sex Crimes case that some of the case "would go away," according to the television stations report. The text messages could be critical, because right now the case sets up to be a "he said, she said," case. Regardless, Slamka is unlikely to spend 90 years or 45 years in prison if she does plead guilty or end up being convicted at trial. Courts have traditionally been more lenient on women charged with these types of crimes, as opposed to men (read more in our November post). But she would in all likelihood be a registered sex offender, which has its own set of severe restrictions. Sex crimes are the only crimes in which, if a convict moves, all of his or her neighbors are notified about the person's conviction. The person is restricted as to where they live, and cannot reside within 1,000 feet from a school.

Any type of sexual allegation, especially involving a minor, can be difficult to recover from - even if someone is found not guilty or a case is dropped. Our Experienced St. Johns County Sex Crimes Attorney has represented hundreds of people charged with varying degrees of sex crimes and can fully explain the details of being classified as a sex offender and what it could mean for you or your loved one.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in St. Augustine or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our St. Johns County Sex Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A man arrested as a 15-year-old on separate Jacksonville rape and carjacking charges was sentenced this week for a second time and will spend 50 years in prison. Kadeem Hart, now 21, was sentenced to 30 years for a 2007 rape and kidnapping, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. He was also sentenced separately to 20 years in prison for an unrelated carjacking that occurred just hours after the rape in these Jacksonville Violent Juvenile Crimes cases, the newspaper reported. Hart was accused of approaching a woman who was walking, holding a BB gun to her head and taking her to a wooded area where he allegedly raped her, the newspaper reported. Just hours later, Hart was with a second suspect and Hart stole a car from a woman who had gotten out of her car to unlock the gate to enter her driveway, the newspaper reported.

When Hart was caught in the stolen car, police found the BB gun and the cell phone and charger of the rape victim, the newspaper reported. Hart was tried on all charges in front of one jury in 2009 and was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the armed sexual battery, armed robbery and kidnapping, the newspaper reported. He was also sentenced to 30 years for kidnapping and 15 years for aggravated battery. But, a state appellate court ruled that Hart should not have been on trial for the Duval County Sexual Battery case at the same time as the carjacking cases. Even though the cases were hours apart, Hart should have been entitled to two separate trials, the newspaper reported. Both convictions were thrown out, as was the life sentence. Hart then pleaded guilty to both charges, eliminating the need for a second trial in his Jacksonville Sex Crime cases. Yet this is significantly more at play in the sentencing since the original 2009 life sentences were handed down. Hart's sentence was likely reduced in light of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that have declared life sentences unconstitutional for people who commit crimes as juveniles - especially when the crime is not a murder. (See our previous blog)

In terms of the trial in the Jacksonville Sex cases, juries do tend to put significance in numbers, and, if a case as presented as a crime spree, the likelihood of a conviction can rise. And that's exactly why Hart was entitled to two trials. The cases were not related. The common denominators were Hart, the BB gun and the date of the crime, but they are two completely different sets of circumstances. Hart's defense on the Duval County rape charge was that the sex was consensual. That argument gets much more difficult when jurors are also hearing that he is accused of carjacking another woman just hours later. The state must prove the inherent relationship between two cases when joining them, or trying them together, and the appellate court ruled in this case that burden was not met.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Duval County Sex Crime Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Fifteen men were arrested in St. Johns County this month, caught in a sting set up to catch adults travelling to have sex with a teen after allegedly arranging a meeting online. One of the men arrested in this St. Johns County Sex Crimes case is a St. Johns County school bus driver, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. All of the men are charged with: use of a computer to seduce, solicit or lure a child; traveling to meet a child after using a computer to lure a child; and use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony. The travelling to meet a child charge is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in state prison. The other two charges are third-degree felonies, which carry a maximum of five years in prison on each count. Add it all up, and each of these men faces a maximum of 25 years in prison on these three St. Johns criminal charges.

Some of those arrested for these St. Johns County Sex Crimes have other charges attached, mostly for drugs found on their possession when they allegedly went to meet the minor. Those factors could certainly play a role in an eventual sentencing, as a judge may use those facts to develop a clearer picture of the intent of the men in going to the meeting place arranged by police.

The police tactic is becoming more and more common, yet it still lures men in from far and wide. In this St. Johns County Sex Crimes Case, men who were arrested came from Nassau County and Jacksonville, Gainesville and Ormond Beach, even from Southern Georgia. In this case, police said the men went to the house in an attempt to have sexual activity with a 13-year-old or 14-year-old child, the newspaper reported. Once the men entered the home, they were arrested. Law enforcement has refined its tactics in these cases over the years to make the cases hold up better in court.

The stories became a national sensation with Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator" series, where the undercover stings were filmed and shown in prime time to a national audience. Local agencies started doing similar stings, but if the men were arrested outside of the home that was set up for the sting, there were questions about whether the cases could be proven. Also, law enforcement became more careful in allowing the adult, or eventual suspect, in the case to initiate the conversation about a sexual encounter. That helps eliminate the entrapment defense that many defendants attempted - some very successfully. These St. Johns County Sex Crimes cases can be difficult to defend, because all of the conversations online are transcribed and right in front of the judge, or jury, in court. And, in a similar St. Johns County Sex Crimes sting last year, those who took their case to trial received significantly longer sentences than those who negotiated a plea agreement. See our previous Blog Post.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in St. Johns County or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our St. Johns County Sex Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A former Jacksonville police officer will not lose his city pension, despite his conviction for molesting young girls. Richard Cannon was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual battery on a victim younger than 18 in Jacksonville and attempted sexual battery on a girl younger than 12, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. As part of Cannon's plea agreement, the state dropped 11 other Duval County molestation and sexual battery charges against him.

The case is an interesting example of the law regarding public employees and the extension of the employer's power once a person is convicted of a crime - and the public's general tendency to have absolutely zero tolerance for people who commit sex crimes against children. According to state law, if a public employee is convicted of a felony or pleads guilty to a felony that is directly related to the person's public position or if the person used the power of their position to commit the crime, the employee's retirement can be revoked. They key is the relation to the public position. In Cannon's case, there is no evidence that he used his position as an officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office to gain access to his victims or to influence them in any way, the newspaper reported.

When these Jacksonville Sex Crimes allegations against Cannon surfaced in 2011, even though they occurred years ago, the veteran officer retired. The pension law is designed more for public corruption cases or, as Cannon's sex crime defense attorney said in the newspaper report, cases where a teacher is molesting students and has a direct influence over the children involved. A notable example is when former Florida Department of Correction Secretary ended up pleading guilty to taking kickbacks from a vendor and the state moved to revoke his pension. His actions were clearly related to the power he had as the head of the prison system. In Cannon's case, the local pension board could not find similar ties and, despite many of the board members publicly saying they wanted to revoke Cannon's pension, they concluded they had no legal reason to do so.

Message boards and comment sections on the Jacksonville news websites lit up with outrage last week when this news of Cannon keeping his estimated $42,000 annual pension surfaced. The anger was directly tied to the types of crimes Cannon was convicted of committing. But, just because someone is convicted a sex crime does not mean they lose every constitutional and personal right that everyone else has.

If you or a loved one needs a sex crimes attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Jacksonville Sex Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A bizarre story of an alleged domestic argument followed by what appears to be make-up sex on Jacksonville Beach landed both the boyfriend and girlfriend in jail last week. Police were called after witnesses said Kathy Granone and her boyfriend David Aiuppy were arguing and throwing objects out of their car in a Jacksonville Beach parking lot, according to a report by First Coast News, Granone apparently walked away from the car and toward the beach. Aiuppy allegedly lit the car on fire, and then followed her to the beach, the television station reported.

Police arrived to investigate the car fire and witnesses pointed the couple out on the beach. The two were allegedly having sex in the middle of the beach at 5:40 p.m., a time when their actions were visible to everyone nearby, the television station reported. Both are facing an exposure of sexual organs charge, a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in the county jail. Granone is also charged with resisting an officer without violence in Jacksonville, another first-degree misdemeanor. Aiuppy is charged with Duval County arson - a far more serious case. In Aiuppy's case, because he allegedly knew there was no one in the car when he set it on fire, he is charged with a second-degree felony and facing up to 15 years in state prison. In cases where the suspect either knew or should have known a building or vehicle had people inside, the charge would be a first-degree felony with a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

One question people often ask in regards to any Jacksonville Sex Crimes case is whether it will result in them having to register as a sex offender. People are very familiar with the law and fear they'll have to go through that process for any sex crime they are accused of. In this case, exposure of sexual organs is a misdemeanor and would NOT require either Granone or Aiuppy to register as a sex offender if either are eventually convicted or plead guilty to the charges.

Sex offender registration is something to be avoided if at all possible. It restricts how close a person can live from a school and requires a person to notify law enforcement every time he or she moves residences. The part most defendants dislike the most is that neighbors are notified of your sex crime as soon as you move. That doesn't even happen for people who served time for murder. In this Jacksonville Sex Crimes case, it appears to be a mistake made in a volatile relationship and certainly not worthy of branding the couple as sex offenders for the rest of their lives.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Jacksonville Sex Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A St. Johns County man convicted in December of three counts of lewd and lascivious sexual battery was sentenced to life in prison on each count last week. James Scharfschwerdt was accused of molesting one boy after getting teens to his home by promising fishing trips and alcohol, according to a report in the St. Augustine Record. All three St. Augustine Sex Charges involved the same teen, who is now 19, the newspaper reported.

During the trial, Scharfschwerdt admitted to giving boys alcohol and swimming naked with them, but denied molesting anyone. All of his Florida sex charges centered around one boy, but three other teens also testified during the trial that Scharfschwerdt did the same thing to them. That's where there could be an issue in this St. Johns County Sex Crimes case. If the state had enough evidence to charge Scharfschwerdt in the three other cases, then it should have prosecuted the cases. If not, they should not have been able to testify.

State law, under the Williams Rule, allows testimony related to similar crimes, but the testimony cannot be used as a "feature" of the trial. In this St. Johns County Sex Crimes case, it likely changed the entire makeup of the trial. With the victim and Scharfschwerdt being the lone witnesses to the alleged molestation, the case is a classic St. Johns County Sex Crimes case with one person's word against another's. But with three other boys testifying, despite the fact the state chose not to prosecute their cases, the jury is presented with an entirely different scenario. The jury is presented with a pattern of Scharfschwerdt's behavior, which would have to have an impact in the jury's mind as to whether he is guilty of molesting the one boy he was charged with molesting. People are naturally inclined to put more weight in a story where four people are saying a similar thing, as opposed to just one.

Defense attorneys argued for a new trial, specifically based on allowing the testimony of the other three boys, the newspaper reported. The judge denied the request, but it is likely that decision will be appealed to a higher court and one can never predict what may happen there. From the perspective of a St. Johns County Sex Crimes Attorney, there's a reason why there are limitations on what a jury is allowed to hear in a case. For example, if someone is on trial for a DUI, the jury does not know if it's a person's first offense or if they've been convicted of a similar crime before. And that applies to convictions. In this case, Scharfschwerdt wasn't even charged, much less convicted in the three other alleged crimes. Sex crimes are often seen differently than other crimes and there's a propensity among jurors to assume that if an accusation is made, then it must be true. Our St. Johns County Sex Crimes Attorney has represented hundreds of people accused of sex crimes in Duval, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns Counties. She can examine all of the evidence and potential testimony carefully to help determine what can be used against you or your loved one.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in St. Johns County or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our St. Johns County Duval County Sex Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A Jacksonville woman was arrested this week and charged with Duval County child neglect and witness tampering for allegedly trying to cover up the fact her husband molested two young girls years ago. Her husband, Louis Vereen, was arrested in Jacksonville last month for lewd and lascivious molestation on a child under the age of 12, accused of molesting two girls when they were about 6 and 9 years old, according to a report on First Coast News.

The girls are now 13 and 16 and the molestation lasted for about two years, the television station reported. Tara Vereen found out about the molestation in 2011 when she stumbled across a letter that one of the girls wrote, saying Louis Vereen molested her. She allegedly confronted her husband, handled it between the two of them and did not report it to police, according to the news report. Police learned about the molestation when the older victim talked about it following attempting suicide, the television station reported. Once police investigated, they found Tara Vereen forced the girls to write letters saying their accusations against her husband were false. That is where the Jacksonville witness tampering charges come into play.

The penalties for witness tampering vary based on the crime at the root of the tampering. It is at the very minimum a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in state prison. However, those penalties increase based on the original crime and end up being one felony degree more severe than the original crime. So witness tampering on a misdemeanor case is a third-degree felony, witness tampering on a third-degree felony is a second-degree felony, and so on. So a tampering charge could expose someone to 15 years in prison on a second-degree felony when the person actually committing the third-degree felony is only looking at a maximum of five years.

Louis Vereen is charged with a life felony for molesting children under the age of 12 in this Jacksonville Sex Crimes case. That means Tara Vereen's charges are also punishable by up to life in prison. Witness tampering is treated very seriously in the state of Florida, at least when it comes to the statutes. In this case, Tara Vereen is accused of trying to get the two alleged victims to lie about what happened and clear her husband of any wrongdoing. Prosecutors will not look too kindly on that in this Jacksonville Sex case, especially because the victims she was trying to persuade were 12 and 15 at the time.

The Vereen case is the latest in what is becoming a trend in Jacksonville Sex Crimes cases where people on the periphery of the investigation are being arrested for either turning a blind eye to molestation or, in the case of Tara Vereen, allegedly being complicit in the actual cover-up of the crime.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Jacksonville Sex Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A grandmother was sentenced to 14 years on prison after pleading guilty to child neglect in Jacksonville, one of several family members charged after her granddaughter was molested by a known sex offender. Patricia Woloszynowski, 63, was the third person to be sentenced - and the third who was not directly involved in the molesting the pre-teen girl, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union.

Robert Young, 53, was found guilty of lewd and lascivious acts on a minor and will be sentenced next week. Woloszynowski owns a home on Jacksonville's Westside and was living there with her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, the newspaper reported. The family then allowed Young, convicted on sexual battery on a child in 1991, to live in the home and sleep in the same bed as the granddaughter. The girl's father has already received six life sentences and her mother was sentenced to 30 years. Prosecutors said the family ignored the abuse because they were unemployed and Young was paying their bills and driving them around in his car, the newspaper reported.

This Duval County Child Neglect case is an example of how a person does not have to commit the actual crime in question to be found guilty of another crime. Family members were charged with various counts of Jacksonville sexual battery, molestation and child neglect and child abuse for ignoring the molestation and allowing it to happen. They were responsible for the well-being of the child and failed in that responsibility, according to the state.

In some ways, the law is similar to the felony murder law in the state of Florida. Florida law allows for someone to be charged with murder if they are committing a felony when someone is killed. For example, if someone robs a gas station and the clerk dies of a heart attack, the armed robber could then be charged with murder. The same is true in the case where the family members turned a blind eye to Young's molestation. Woloszynowski was originally charged with five counts of Duval County sexual battery on a defendant younger than 12 and one count each of lewd or lascivious molestation and child neglect, but worked a deal to plead only to the child neglect charge. The judge reluctantly allowed the plea because of her age and the fact she did not have a criminal record, the newspaper reported.

And the case shows that what some people may see only as an immoral act can also be interpreted as an illegal act by the criminal justice system. And penalties can be severe, regardless if you are the person who committed the actual crime. If you suspect police want to talk to you about an indirect role you may have in any crime, you should contact a Jacksonville criminal defense attorney immediately.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Duval County or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a Free Consultation. Our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Jacksonville police arrested a youth minister last week after allegations that the 38-year-old man molested a 15-year-old girl. David Wayne Larson was charged with four counts of Jacksonville lewd and lascivious molestation of a juvenile, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. These Duval County Sex Charges are all second-degree felonies, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Police received information in December that Larson was sexually involved with a teen over the course of the past four months, according to the newspaper report. Police investigated and then discovered enough evidence to make an arrest and charge him, according to the newspaper, though none of the evidence was made public last week. Jacksonville sex crimes cases are extremely serious and come with severe consequences that can stick with a person forever. For example, if a person is convicted of the sex related crimes Larson is charged with, not only will the person likely go to prison, once they are released they will be required to register as a sex offender. That means any time they move, all of their neighbors will be notified of their Jacksonville sex crime. They are also restricted as to where they can choose to live because they cannot legally live near schools or other areas children congregate.

Sex crimes in Florida and everywhere also carry a stigma unlike any other crime and people often assume that if an accusation is made, the person is automatically guilty. To the contrary, Jacksonville sex charges can be the most difficult cases for the state to prove. It's impossible to know what evidence the state has against Lawson in this case, but in many Jacksonville sex crimes cases there is little to no physical evidence. Many times it is simply the word of the alleged victim versus the word of the defendant. There are countless examples of people recanting stories of alleged molestation and there are others where juries have found people not guilty because they didn't feel there was enough independent evidence to convict the defendant.

One key to Lawson's Jacksonville sex crimes case will be what, if anything, he told police when he was arrested. If he did not make an admission, he helped himself significantly. If he did end up making a confession in an interview with detectives, the "he-said, she-said" type of defense is basically out the window. Our experienced Jacksonville sex crimes attorney has represented hundreds of people charged with sex crimes and knows the significance a conviction or a guilty plea can have on a person for the rest of his or her life.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Jacksonville Sex Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A disgraced former Jacksonville police officer pleaded no contest last week to the Jacksonville criminal charge of soliciting a prostitute while on duty and in uniform earlier this year. As part of his sentence, David Sumlin was put on Duval County probation for four months and was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service, according to a report on First Coast News. The plea came just one month after he was arrested in Northeast Florida on two counts of soliciting for prostitution, a relatively short turn-around for a criminal case. Both charges are second-degree misdemeanors punishable by up to 60 days in jail. As part of the agreement last week, the state dropped one count and Sumlin pleaded no contest to the second.

A no contest plea means that the defendant is choosing not to fight the charges, but is technically not pleading guilty. In the end, it doesn't really matter because the defendant is adjudicated guilty so all of the same penalties apply and as they would if he pleaded guilty in this Jacksonville misdemeanor crimes case.

Police had been tipped off that Sumlin had been soliciting prostitutes while he was on duty and officers set up a sting with a decoy prostitute to catch Sumlin in the act, the television station reported. Conservations with the confidential informant were recorded, so any evidence would likely be played in court if Sumlin opted to take the case all the way to trial. Sumlin, an eight-year veteran of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, resigned from his position shortly after being arrested in November. In terms of punishment and time behind bars, Sumlin's crime is not overly serious, as evidenced by the fact that the maximum punishment is only two months in jail for each count. But, it terms of longer-term consequences, Sumlin will be paying for this crime for some time. He has already lost his job and will likely have a tough time finding another position in law enforcement.

In most misdemeanor cases in Duval, Clay and Nassau Counties, a defendant is sentenced to some form of Florida probation and will generally have to complete community service. The sentences are set up to provide some sort of punishment and incentive not to commit a similar crime, but to also allow people to recover and continue productive lives after making a mistake. But if a person fails to meet the conditions of their probation, they are then opening themselves up to a Jacksonville Probation Violation and can be sentenced to maximum time they would have faced. People can move on after a misdemeanor if they complete probation, but defendants must work to get there.

Our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney has represented thousands of clients charged with misdemeanors. Many have negotiated deals with the state for community service and probation, completing their sentence and moving on with their lives. Others have been exonerated completely. Our Jacksonville misdemeanor crimes attorney will thoroughly investigate your case and advise you of your best options going forward.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Duval County Misdemeanor Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The last of 17 cases stemming from a child sex sting last year in St. Johns County wrapped up last month and all but one of the men will serve time behind bars.
One man received five years of probation in St. Johns County, another received just less than a year in the county jail and the remaining 15 are all serving time in state prison, according to a report in the St. Augustine Record. Men traveled from all over the state and from Georgia to meet what they thought was a minor for sex, the newspaper reported. What they didn't know was police officers and federal agents were posing as children or their guardians during the online conversations. The sting, dubbed Operation Sheepdog, is similar to the undercover operations Dateline NBC made famous in its "To Catch a Predator" televised investigations.

These St. Johns County Sex Cases can be difficult in terms of a criminal defense because there are normally sexually suggestive online chats back and forth between the defendant and the undercover officers. Also, St. Augustine sex crimes involving children are the types of crimes juries and the public tend to be the most disgusted by and some people will argue nearly any punishment - regardless of how severe - could be seen as lenient and disrespectful.

From the perspective of a St. Johns County Sex Crimes Attorney, the most telling aspect of this group of cases is the disparity in sentences between the men who worked out a deal with the state and those who exercised their right to a trial before a jury of their peers. The 13 men who agreed to plead guilty had sentences ranging from Florida Sex Offender Probation to eight years in prison, the newspaper reported. None received as much time as any of the four who went to trial. Their sentences spanned from nine years to 15 years, according to the newspaper. And while every American does have a right to a trial, these St. Johns sex cases are another example that if a person does choose a trial, the stakes go up considerably. That can especially be true in cases like this, where police conduct a sting and there are several people charged with similar crimes, or in a case with multiple co-defendants such as a drug ring. The state will often try to work the case out and, if the defendant isn't coming around, drop the hammer once negotiations are stalled. It's not at all uncommon to see such varying sentences in cases such as this. That's why in similar cases our St. Johns County sex crimes attorney encourages her clients to at least listen to the state on a possible deal. It may not be the right one and the case may end up going to trial, but it is certainly worth the defendant's time to at least hear out the offer and give it some thought.

If you or a loved one needs a sex crimes attorney in St. Johns County or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a Free Consultation. Our St, Johns County Sex Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A Jacksonville high school teacher is facing up to 60 years in prison if found guilty of having a sexual relationship with one of her students at Atlantic Coast High School. Danielle Reed, 23, was arrested last week and charged with two counts of sexual battery in Duval County with a victim between the ages of 12 and 18, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The charge is a first-degree felony in Florida and Reed faces up to 30 years in prison on each count. One indication of where a sentence could land, though certainly not foolproof, is what a judge decides to do in terms of a bond. In this case, the judge released Reed on her own recognizance. That means she does not have to pay any money to be released from jail awaiting a trial - almost unheard of for a person facing two first-degree felony charges. The judge did set several conditions on her release, including a 9 p.m. curfew and that she live with her parents in a nearby county, have no contact with the alleged victim and not go to schools or other place where teens congregate.

Reed had been a teacher in Duval County schools for less than a year, according to the newspaper report. Reed is accused of posing as the mother of a friend of the alleged victim so the alleged victim could spend the night at her house, the newspaper reported. The age of the alleged victim has not been released, but most students are at least 14 before they start high school. Whether the teen-aged boy was a willing participant in the sexual activity or not, it is still a crime for an adult such as Reed to have sexual contact with someone who is under the age of 18. Right or wrong, cases like Reed's are usually treated far differently than they would be if a 23-year-old male teacher was accused of a sexual relationship with a teen student. It'd be tough to imagine a man in a similar case being allowed to just live at his parents' house instead of sitting in jail waiting for the case to resolve, either in a trial or through a plea agreement. And once the cases work out, many of the women with charges similar to Reed's do not end up spending time in jail or prison. And an appellate court ruled earlier this year that a judge erred in granting the early termination of probation for infamous Tampa teacher Debra Lafave, who was supposed to serve seven years of Florida sexual offender probation as part of her 2008 plea deal in the case.

An Experienced Jacksonville Sex Attorney understands the varying degrees of sexual assault cases and how some of the variables - including the age and gender both the defendant and the victim - can change how the crime is perceived in the eyes of the court. Our Jacksonville Sexual Battery Lawyer has represented hundreds of defendants accused of sex crimes and will look closely at all of the factors and provide you or a loved one with the best options to choose from going forward.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Duval County Sex Crimes Lawyer, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Duval County sex charge that had been the hammer for the state when now 13-year-old Cristian Fernandez refused to plead to first-degree murder was dropped by prosecutors last week. The state dropped the Jacksonville sex crime citing a lack of evidence, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The decision is interesting in this high-profile case because, other than a shaky confession from Fernandez the judge threw out in August, very little has changed in the case since the state filed it in January. Now, Fernandez is only facing the murder charge, accused of killing his 2-year-old half-brother in 2010. Negotiations in that case had been ongoing for months before they broke down last year and the state decided to file sexual battery charges based on accusations from another step brother, this one 5 at the time, the newspaper reported.

But it's clear the state tried to play hardball in this Jacksonville criminal case and the move did not work. In dropping the sexual charge, prosecutors said they were concerned the victim didn't mention the abuse in an initial interview, but made the accusation in a second session with a counselor, the newspaper reported. Prosecutors also mentioned the potential emotional trauma on the now-7-year-old victim if he was to testify in a trial. Both of these issues were known at the time the state took the sexual battery charges to a grand jury as a way of upping the ante on Fernandez if he wouldn't take the state's deal on the murder charge. The murder charge is still pending and it is expected to go to trial next year, without the interviews with the detective that were ruled inadmissible by the judge in August, the newspaper reported. Now that only one charge is left, it appears even more likely to end up in a trial, though the state could see the writing on the wall and come with an offer the Jacksonville criminal defense would be more likely to accept.

The state often uses the threat of other Jacksonville criminal charges to try to get what it wants, to in a way force someone into pleading to a charge they'd rather fight in a trial. Typically, it's a case that would be easy to prove, not a sexual battery charge that seemed to be thin at best. An experienced Jacksonville Sex Crimes Attorney is a tremendous asset in a case like this to help gauge what the state really has and weigh whether the best decision is to try to wait the state out and keep fighting. In this case, it appeared to work, though there's still a long way to go.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Duval County Sex Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.