A six-day Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office operation, with the assistance of various local police departments and state law enforcement, has led to the arrests of 31 people, according to The Miami Herald. The sting operation aimed to protect Manatee and Sarasota County children from online predators.

All of the 31 suspects had responded to online ads and engaged in sexually explicit verbal and written conversation. They agreed to travel to a secret Sarasota County location for the purpose of having sex with a child or children. (The location will remain secret in order to be used again). When the suspects arrived, they were placed under arrest by detectives. Some of the charges brought against several of the suspects include “use of a computer and traveling to seduce, solicit or entice a child to commit sexual acts.”

Sex crimes against children are aggressively prosecuted. At least one of the 31 arrested suspects faces a second-degree felony charge carrying a maximum 15 years in prison. Such consequences can have a significant impact on a person’s personal and professional life. They can lose their family, their job, and even be branded a sex offender for the rest of their life. The repercussions of a felony sex crime charge should never be underestimated.

If you have been accused of a child sex crime in Florida, you will be fervently prosecuted. Your best chance to avoid excessive penalties and/or an unjust conviction is by retaining the services of an aggressive Florida criminal defense attorney. The experienced Sarasota County crimes against children defense attorneys at Musca Law have the knowledge, skills, and resources to effectively protect your legal rights. For a confidential consultation, call us today at (800) 687-2252.

If you have recently been charged with a criminal offense, you should seek the counsel of a qualified Florida criminal defense attorney as soon as you can. That said, you definitely want to work with an experienced lawyer who understands the legal “ins” and “outs” of your particular situation, and as such, it is important that you seek an attorney who has handled these types of cases before.

Organize all Legal Documentation

After scheduling an initial meeting with a criminal defense lawyer, you should prepare yourself for the meeting ahead by gathering all relevant documents. Some of the items that you should take with you include a copy of the police report (if available), documents relating to your arrest, any documents related to court dates, bail papers, and related legal information. At this time, you should also consider making a list of the other possible suspects, victims, and witnesses involved in the case.

Prepare Comments and Questions

In order to ensure that you cover all points at your first meeting, you should write down the topics that you wish to discuss with your potential criminal defense lawyer. Do remember to also write down questions for the lawyer as well. Some questions to ask a criminal defense attorney during this meeting can include:

• How long have you been a criminal defense lawyer?
• What bar associations or other organizations do you belong to?
• How familiar are you with handling cases related to the charges that I face?
• How would you handle this case?
• How much time do you have to give to my case?
• What type of time-line do you expect for this case?
• How can I contact you when I have a question and when should I expect a reply?
• How do you charge for your services and what specifically is included?

Have you or someone you know been charged with a crime? Contact expert Florida defense lawyers here at Musca Law – you can reach us at 1-866-Musca-Law to arrange your completely free legal consultation.

Tavares police arrested a self-proclaimed “volunteer pastor” on a charge of lewd and lascivious molestation of an elderly or disabled person.  Gary C. Cotterill was booked and released on $5000 bond after police received an anonymous complaint indicating that Cotterill engaged in inappropriate touching of an Alzheimer’s patient in an assisted living facility.  The complaint alleged that Cotterill placed his hand down the backside of the victim’s pants during a sermon.  The person who reported the behavior indicated that this was not an isolated incident but an ongoing pattern of abuse.  

Other witnesses substantiated the incident and agreed that this was not an isolated incident.  Robert Chubboy confirmed that Cotterill placed his hand on the victim and saw the victim’s “pants moving up and down as if being rubbed.”  Another witness also confirmed that Cotterill rubbed the victim’s buttocks over the victim’s clothes.  Cotterill disputed the allegations saying that he had never touched the alleged victim in an inappropriate way.  Cotterill also contends he has never touched the victim’s breasts, buttocks or groin.  Cotterill concedes he has close contact with individuals as a function of his role as a pastor but that there is nothing sexual in the way he touched the victim.  However, he also conceded he is not “currently” an ordained minister.  Read more »

A recent appellate decision by the District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District clarifies a person’s duty to provide accurate identification information to law enforcement officers.  The case, Sauz v. State of Florida, reversed a lower court conviction for resisting an officer without violence charge based on Sauz lying about his identity. 

Sauz was charged with lewd battery after he had sex with a 13-year-old girl.  The investigating detective went to Sauz’s home to talk to him.  The detective was dressed in plain clothes.  The detective indicated she did not go to the house with the intent to detain Sauz but only to see if he would cooperate with the investigation.  When the detective inquired, Sauz gave a false name and date of birth and told the detective Sauz was in Texas.  Based on Sauz lies, he was convicted of the resisting an officer without violence charge.  Read more »