Florida Criminal Attorney Blog

22 people were arrested in an undercover sex sting near Orlando, Florida this week. The operation was conducted by the Sumter County Sheriff's Office and mimicked some of the tricks used to arrest child molesters on television. According to news reports, detectives posed as underage boys and girls and made arrangements with local adults to meet up for sex.

The supposed "meetings" were arranged to take place at a home in the Orlando area.
As one can imagine, this sting mimicked Dateline's "To Catch a Predator," but instead of chatting with Chris Hansen in some random kitchen, those arrested were summarily introduced to the floor and handcuffs upon entering the home.

Candidly, cases like these are very hard to defend, even for an experienced criminal lawyer.

However, that does not mean there aren't any questions that come to mind, such as how the police came to be involved with these particular defendants in the first place. According to news reports, the Sumter County Sheriff's Office worked closely with the State Attorney to avoid any legal impediments to successful prosecution, such as allegations of entrapment.

To understand whether entrapment is a defense in a case like this, it is first necessary to explain what entrapment is. Described loosely, Florida Statute 777.201 states that entrapment occurs when the police induce or encourage a person to commit a crime using methods of persuasion that cause that person to commit a crime that they would not otherwise commit.

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Mitchell Leefar, 56, was arrested for Possession of Child Pornography in Fort Lauderdale, Florida last week. According to court documents, Leefar is being detained on a $200,000.00 bond. When the magistrate judge set bond, he noted that Leefar had a prior arrest for Possession of Child Pornography in 1994.

A search of the Broward County Clerk of Court's website shows that Leefar has no prior felony offenses in Broward. Where his prior alleged arrest occurred is not known at the present time. However, it is important to emphasize that even though that arrest was for the same thing, an arrest does not mean anything... the real question concerns what happened with that case? Was he convicted? Did he go to prison? Was he found not guilty by a jury of his peers?

Regardless, Leefar is facing a VERY serious case. Given the fact that he is facing 20 counts of Possession of Child Pornography, he is facing more years in prison than he could possible live in his natural life.

Given my experience with litigating these types of cases here in Broward County, I suspect that prosecutors would begin plea bargain negotiations in the area of 10-15 years.

When determining what plea bargain to offer, prosecutors will evaluate a number of factors. The first is the nature and extent of the charges. This case concerns charges that are both extremely serious and extremely pervasive... 20 counts is a lot.

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