Florida Police Officer Charged with Having Sexual Contact with Underage Girl

A Tallahassee, Florida police officer was arrested by the Tallahassee Police Department recently on charges that he plied an underage girl with alcohol and then had sexual contact with the drunk teen. Investigators found the teen in his home. The 26-year-old now-former Tallahassee police officer allegedly met the underage girl on an app and they arranged to meet in a shopping center parking lot, the Tallahassee Police Department said in a press release.

The officer then drove the teen to a nearby liquor store where he purchased alcohol before taking her to his apartment and engaging in sexual activity, police said. Authorities said they responded to the officer’s apartment complex after hearing reports of an intoxicated juvenile. The officer provided police with his real name but gave a false age and occupation before admitting that the teenage girl was inside his apartment, according to police. Officers later located the intoxicated minor and took her to a local hospital for treatment. Investigators arrested the officer and later found out he was a policeman in their own department. The officer, who joined the force in 2023, was immediately terminated.

The officer has since been charged with:

• Lewd and lascivious battery
• Lewd and lascivious molestation
• Lewd and lascivious conduct
• Contributing to the delinquency of a minor

Lewd and lascivious crimes against minors

 Florida Statutes § 800.04 defines the crime of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child. Under the statute, any individual who intentionally touches in a lewd and lascivious manner the breasts, genitals, genital area, buttocks, or the clothing covering them, of a person less than 16 years of age, or forces or entices a person under 16 years of age to so touch the perpetrator, commits the crime of lewd and lascivious molestation. If the victim is under the age of 12, the perpetrator commits a life felony, which is punishable by up to life in prison. If the victim is between the ages of 12 and 16, then the perpetrator can be charged with a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in state prison.

Lewd or lascivious battery is defined as:

• Engaging in sexual activity with a person between the ages of 12 and 16
• Encouraging, forcing, or enticing any person less than 16 years of age to engage in sadomasochistic abuse, sexual bestiality, prostitution, or any other act involving sexual activity

Generally speaking, lewd and lascivious battery is charged as a felony in the second degree which is punishable by up to 15 years in state prison. In some cases, it can be charged as a first-degree felony, particularly if the perpetrator has prior convictions related to sex crimes involving minors.

Talk to a Florida Sex Crimes Attorney Today 

Luke Newman, P.A. represents the interests of those who are facing serious crimes in Tallahassee, FL. Call our Tallahassee criminal lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin discussing your defense strategy right away.

Source:

nypost.com/2024/09/25/us-news/florida-cop-caught-with-intoxicated-teen-in-his-tallahassee-homea-florida-cop-is-charged-with-engaging-in-sexual-activity-with-a-teenage-girl-he-got-drunk-and-took-home/