Florida Criminal Attorney Blog

Germain Faivre of Deltona, Florida was arrested after he allegedly left his two young children unsupervised for two hours, news sources indicate. Faivre, 23, was charged with one count of child neglect and arrested by Flagler County Sheriff's office deputies after the incident. He was later released from Flagler County Inmate Facility on $5,000 bail bond, reports indicate. It is not clear whether Mr. Faivre has retained a private criminal defense attorney.

Sources indicate that Faivre was arrested for leaving his two children, aged 5 and 2, alone in his apartment in Madison Green on Saturday afternoon. A comment by a Flagler County Sheriff's Office spokesperson indicated that Faivre allegedly left the children alone to go to a hotel on North Old Kings Road. Faivre had allegedly been arguing with his girlfriend and went to the hotel to continue the argument. The spokesperson reportedly stated that the Faivre's girlfriend is not the mother of the children. It is not clear whether she was staying at the hotel. Her name was not released.

Police arrived at the apartment at approximately 2:15 p.m. after someone tipped them off about the children being left alone, reports indicate. Authorities reportedly believe that the children were left alone for two hours. One child allegedly told authorities that Faivre had left to go to the store.

The Department of Children and Families, the children's aunt, and Faivre also came to the apartment. Faivre was arrested upon his return; the children's aunt reportedly took the kids to their mother, who lives in Daytona Beach. It is not currently known whether Faivre will be allowed to retain custody of the children after the incident, nor is it clear whether the Department of Children and Families plans to continue its involvement in the case.

Faivre was not the only person arrested in the area for child-related crimes recently. Dennis R. Wells of Lake Worth, Florida was arrested in Palm Beach County after he allegedly sexually abused a child years ago, according to news reports. Wells, 58, was arrested on two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and booked at Palm Beach County Jail. He is currently incarcerated at Lake County Jail in lieu of paying $150,000 bail bond, sources indicate. It is not clear whether Mr. Wells has retained a private criminal defense attorney.

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Michael Marshall and Sharon Glass of Titusville, Florida were arrested on Thursday, March 14 after police allegedly found Marshall's 12-year-old son starving in his home, located on Barna Avenue in Titusville. Marshall and Glass, his live-in girlfriend, have been charged with three counts each of aggravated child abuse for unlawful caging of a child and one count each of aggravated child neglect. Both have been denied bond and remain incarcerated at Brevard County Jail. It is unclear whether either Marshall, 38, or Glass, 48, has retained a private criminal defense attorney.

The police report indicates that the Titusville Police Department received an anonymous tip stating that the boy was being abused. When they arrived at the home to investigate the claims, they allegedly found the 12-year-old boy locked in a bathroom, where he was lying on the floor in the fetal position. According to reports, he had been denied food as a punishment for breaking a rule and had tried to steal some, leading to his confinement in the bathroom. He reportedly asked police officers if he could have something to eat when they found him.

Police believe that the boy was also locked in a cage inside of a closet and tied to a bed. Marshall and Glass reportedly confessed to confining and restraining the boy in these manners as a method of punishment. Apparently no one had seen the boy for nearly one and a half years, during which time officials believe he was being neglected and abused inside the home. After the boy's school raised child neglect allegations in 2010, Marshall reportedly pulled his son from school, saying that he would home school him.

The youth, who is turning 13 next week, reportedly weighed 40 pounds when authorities found him (boys his age normally weight 80 pounds). The report compares the boy's condition to that of a concentration camp survivor and says that he was both dehydrated and emaciated when he was found. Marshall told a reporter, when the reporter stated that Marshall had almost killed the youth, that he "didn't mean to."

The boy was treated at the hospital before being turned over to the Department of Children and Families. Some reports indicate that the boy was taken in by a foster family, while others report that he was placed in the custody of his paternal grandmother. "If the grandmother has ignored these symptoms in the past, I want to make sure that the grandmother is educated on what the child's needs are, so make sure that's accomplished," the judge in the case could be heard saying on a televised clip of the court proceedings.

There were apparently several other young children living at the home, but officials aren't sure if they were subjected to the same child abuse as their elder sibling. One child is Marshall's 10-year-old daughter; the other is Glass' 5-year-old son. Both children received medical treatment before being taken in by the Department of Children and Families. "No doubt that the younger two have been subjected to mental abuse," said a DCF spokesperson.

Summer Christlieb, 33, was recently arrested in Davie, Florida for DUI and child neglect. According to news reports, Summer Christlieb admitted to "drinking a little wine" at her son's birthday party before allegedly piling 5 kids into the back of her car for the ride home. Police allege that none of the children were wearing seat belts.

Fortunately, no one was hurt when Christlieb crashed her car.

As a criminal defense lawyer, I can tell you that a lot more information is needed before any concrete conclusions can be drawn about this case. Just because someone has a glass of wine and gets behind of the wheel of a car, does not mean they were drunk.

In fact, Christlieb may have been wrongly arrested.

While many people personally believe it is wrong to have a drink and then drive, the law does not have such restrictions. Rather, the offense of DUI only occurs when a person drives (or is in actual physical control of a vehicle) while impaired by alcohol, drugs, or other chemical substances.

In other words, the essence of DUI is not drinking alcohol, but rather being impaired by it.

For that reason, there must be proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the driver in question was impaired. If he/she was not impaired, then they are not guilty of DUI under Florida law.

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