Florida Criminal Attorney Blog

A sexual assault sting in Osceola County, Florida netted 40 arrests for Attempted Lewd or Lascivious Battery on a Child, Travel to Seduce Child to Commit Sex Acts, Use of a Computer to Solicit Child for Sex, and Possession of Alcohol by a Minor. The undercover operation was designed to catch adults pursuing sex with minors on the internet.

Given the extremely serious nature of these offenses, those arrested should hire a private criminal defense attorney who has experience dealing with sexual offenses, especially lewd and lascivious molestation charges.

Those arrested include professional golfer Stephen Wesley Thomas, middle school teacher Alexander Roy, swim coach Bryan Woodward, and a handful of college students.

The sting, dubbed "Operation Red Cheeks," ran for one week between January 8-16.

Some, who thought they were talking to parents or guardians during the sting, were also charged with Use of a Computer to Seduce/Solicit/Entice a Parent, Legal Guardian or Custodian of Child to Commit Sex Acts of the Child and Travel to Seduce, Solicit, or Lure a Parent, Guardian, or Custodian to Consent to Commit Sex Acts with a Child.

Continue reading "40 Men Arrested in Osceola County, Florida Child Sex Sting" »

Curtis Leo Barber was arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida for possession of child pornography. According to news reports, Curtis Barber worked as a traffic control employee for Palm Beach County. It is unknown if he is represented by a criminal defense lawyer at the present time. As a result of his arrest, he is facing two counts of transmission of child pornography and three counts of computer pornography and child exploitation.

At the present time, Curtis Barber is being held on a $6,000.00 bail bond.

According to a press release by the State Attorney's Office, Barber used a social networking site to transmit sexually explicit messages and photographs to an undercover officer allegedly posing as a 15 year old boy.

Strangely, the two also communicated using web camera sessions over the internet. This may sound like a statement of the obvious, but how did the undercover officer keep up the ruse of being a 15 year old boy if he is an adult?

The press release also mentioned that Curtis Barber engaged in these acts at his county office and using a government issued internet account.

Continue reading "Curtis Barber Arrested for Child Pornography in Palm Beach, Florida" »

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.

Continue reading "22 Arrested in Undercover Sex Sting near Orlando, Florida" »