A convicted sex offender was arrested in Texas over the weekend and extradited to Escambia County, Florida on charges of stabbing and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old Pensacola girl last month.
The 41-year-old man is accused of stabbing his girlfriend’s 15-year-old daughter on July 28 after she allegedly refused his sexual advances.
According to officials, the man left the scene of the crime on bicycle. He was arrested a day later by a U.S. Marshals Service Task Force at a bus stop in San Antonio, Texas.
According to a warrant supervisor for the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, the man said he was traveling to surprise a woman he was pen pals with while he was in prison.
He was booked into the Escambia County Jail Saturday and charged with aggravated battery, sexual assault and violating sex offender laws. As of Sunday evening, he was being held with no bond.
The girl’s condition is unknown.
The man was convicted of sexual battery, robbery and firearms charges in Miami in 1992 and was released from prison last year after serving 18 years of a 30-year sentence.
The fact that the man allegedly violated the terms of his probation along with his past conviction of a sex crime will most definitely have bearing on how the prosecution handles this case. Unfortunately, probation conditions for registered sex offenders are often designed for failure and seemingly minor infractions can lead to a probation violation charge. A seasoned sex crimes defense lawyer can analyze the events surrounding this case and determine the man’s best line of defense towards the charges.
Under Florida law, any individual with prior convictions of violent offenses will be returned to prison immediately if they are suspected of violating probation. The only way to combat this is for a judge to rule otherwise. For violating probation a judge can reinstate, revoke or modify your probation. Florida law allows a judge who revokes probation to allot the maximum penalty for the charge you were placed on probation for.
Proceedings for a probation violation are quite different than being charged with a new crime due to the fact that the accused has already been sentenced to probation. It is much easier for the State to prove a violation because a person who violates their probation has less protection than someone who is charged with a new crime. Even if a new criminal charge is dropped, a prosecutor can still attempt to prove the offense at a violation of parole hearing. At parole violation hearings, the accused has no right to a jury trial and the State does not have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
There are defenses to violating sex offender laws, including genuine innocence and deficient evidence. The best thing a person can do after being detained is to contact the Florida Sex Crimes Defense Attorneys at Whittel & Melton. We can schedule an emergency bond hearing right away so that your case has the best chance at getting swiftly resolved.
If you have been charged with a new crime and have been accused of a probations violation in Escambia County, Pensacola or throughout the state of Florida, contact the Florida Sex Crimes Defense Attorneys at Whittel & Melton online or call our Pensacola office by dialing 866-608-5529 toll-free.