A 31-year-old Sunrise man was arrested again in early April and returned to jail on the same day that he was released. He was arrested for a second time on a misdemeanor battery charge involving a minor and violation of his pre-trial services program terms and conditions. A pre-trial services program order was entered in connection with the man in 2014. He had been charged with using a computer for child exploitation, traveling to meet a minor for unlawful sexual contact and transmission of child pornography through an electronic device.
In the second arrest, a teenage girl told police that she had separated from family and friends at Sweetwater’s Dolphin Mall and realized that the man was staring at her and following her. He then allegedly snuck up on her and grabbed her right buttock with his left hand and ran off. After the girl told mall security of the incident, the man was found hiding behind a car in the mall parking lot.
Fort Lauderdale sex crimes attorney Kenneth Hassett advises that a battery is committed under Florida Statute 784.03 when a person intentionally touches or strikes another individual against his or her will. The crime is punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine not to exceed $1,000.
The man’s first encounter with law enforcement was in Broward County where during the course of six days in 2014, he sent overtly sexual messages on social media to arrange for an encounter with a person that he thought was a 14-year-old-girl. The recipient of the messages was actually an undercover Davie police officer. The man was arrested at a local Starbucks where a rendezvous was to occur.
Even a conviction for a misdemeanor offense can stay with a person for the rest of his or her life and interfere with education, employment or housing. If you or somebody close to you has been arrested on any type of sex crime charge, contact Hassett & Associates, P.A. at 954-791-3939 right away for your Fort Lauderdale sex crimes attorney. Protect your rights. Don’t give the police any type of statement or confession. Contact Hassett & Associates, P.A. right away.
