Teenage Sex Crime and Alcohol

Defense Attorneys in South Florida understand all too well the devastating effect that a conviction for a sex crime can have on an individual. In the following case, Judges agreed that such a label might ruin the lives of a few boys who were accused of just that almost one year ago.

Was the following sentence lenient?

BOCA RATON, September 3, 2008 – An alcohol-laden sexual assault on two girls on New Year’s day has four of six teenagers pleading to lesser charges that do not fall under the Sex Crimes statutes. Ryan Lafferty, Blake Carter (both 14), Alex Perriello, 16, and Eduardo Otaegui, 18 all pleaded to felony battery instead of sexual battery on a helpless person and lewd and lascivious battery.

The teenagers will also receive five years of probation. The first year will be spent on house arrest. These boys got lucky, as the judge agreed to withhold adjudication if they complete the probation. That means their record may be eligible for sealing at a later date.

They must also complete a substance abuse and psycho-sexual evaluation and any other treatment recommended by psychological evaluators. They are also subject to drug and alcohol tests and are prohibited from using any kind of narcotics or drinking alcohol. They may not have any unsupervised contact with girls younger than 18 years of age, but may participate in classroom activities, verbal greetings in class and the lunchroom. They will not be allowed to attend the same school as the girls they committed the assault on.

The two girls they abused were 14 and 15 years old.

One co-defendant – William Long, 19 – did not accept the plea agreement. The offer remains open until Monday.

There is a possibility that all parties involved know each other and that there has been other sexual contact between them.

Contact the criminal defense lawyers at William Moore, P.A. for questions or comments.