Whittel & Melton 352-726-0078 – Florida Sex Crimes Attorneys
Citrus County, Florida – A 44-year-old Homosassa woman has been arrested and charged with one count of lewd and lascivious battery involving a minor after she allegedly confessed to having sex with a 15-year-old Homosassa boy.
The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the woman after becoming aware that the woman and boy may have had a sexual relationship at her house.
In mid-May, the boy allegedly said that he and the woman had sex on her couch. Police claim the boy said they had sex twice, and he regularly made visits to her home throughout the summer.
The woman apparently agreed to be interviewed, and allegedly denied the allegations at first.
According to police, the woman eventually admitted to having sex with the boy once.
Her bail was set at $5,000.
Many people fail to realize that false confessions occur quite frequently in sex crimes cases. According to the Innocence Project, 25 percent of criminal convictions are eventually overturned by DNA evidence even though the defendant confessed to the crime. Why would anyone confess to a crime they did not actually commit? Confessions are not always motivated by actual guilt, sometimes admissions can be provoked by outside influences. Numerous factors can lead to false confessions during a police interview or interrogation, including the following:
While some confessions can be linked to the person’s mental state, mentally capable adults often confess to crimes they did not commit because they were under extreme duress, exhaustion, interrogated for an uncomfortable length of time or even because they genuinely believe if they confess they can be released and worry about proving their innocence later. Many people charged with a sex crime are facing the legal system for the very first time. They are often clueless to the fact that police are trained to provoke statements from suspects, even if the methods for doing so are deceptive and dishonest.
The Florida Sex Crimes Attorneys at Whittel & Melton understand that sometimes people can be persuaded by police to make false confessions, and we stand ready to defend these admissions of guilt. If you were coerced into giving a false statement or confession, for whatever reason, you must speak with an attorney right away. You still have rights, and should obtain appropriate legal counsel.
If you believe that you or someone you love was forced into providing a false confession for a sex crime they did not commit in Homosassa or elsewhere in the state of Florida, contact the Florida Sex Crimes Attorneys at Whittel & Melton online or call our Citrus County office at 352-726-0078. You can reach us 24/7 statewide and toll-free by dialing 866-608-5529.