Pasco County Man Accused of Impregnating a Child

The Zephyrhills Police Department arrested a 47-year-old man charging him with sexual assault on a child under 18. He allegedly raped an 11-year-old girl over a five-month time frame resulting in the girl’s pregnancy.

Deputies said the girl terminated her pregnancy at three months. A police report confirms that DNA test results show the Zephyrhills man as the father of the unborn child.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, the girl was sexually assaulted numerous times from October through February.

The man is being held at the Land O’ Lakes jail with no bond.

Sexual assault is an attack of a sexual nature brought forth by one person onto another. This can include rape, child sexual abuse, sexual torture, sodomy and fondling. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported that in 2007 there were 6,145 forcible rapes, 1, 402 cases of sodomy and 3, 667 cases of forcible fondling, totaling 11, 214 sexual offenses reported.

Due to the obvious difficult nature and media attention associated with sex crimes of any kind, harsher penalties have been established by the Florida legislature. A sexual assault conviction can carry stern penalties of life in prison, fines, mandatory counseling and court ordered rehabilitation. Under the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act and the Florida Sexual Predators Act, any person convicted of a sex crime and identified as a sexual predator must register with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for life. In 2005 Jessica’s Law was enacted in Florida to give stricter penalties to convicted sex offenders. The key provisions of the law are a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and lifetime electronic monitoring for adults convicted of lewd or lascivious acts against a victim under the age of 12. In Florida, the rape of a child under the age of 12 can carry consequences of life in prison with no chance of parole.

If you have been arrested for a sex crime in Florida, contact the Florida Sex Crimes Defense Lawyers online or call 866-608-5529.