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Posted On: November 24, 2008

Port Richey Doctor sentenced to 33 Years In Prison For Child Porn

The Tampa Tribune is reporting that the Port Richey doctor convicted of possessing and receiving child pornography was sentenced this afternoon to 33 years and 9 months in federal prison.

The Doctor’s wife at the time was the person who alerted law enforcement to his criminal activity. She later testified against him at trial. Investigators say they found images of children as young as six on the Doctor’s office and home computers. At sentencing, family members of the Doctor testified to the Judge that they had been molested by the Doctor when they were children and that they have never been able to move on from the trauma that caused in their life.

The doctor’s medical license has been suspended indefinitely by the Florida Department of Health.

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Posted In: Sex Crimes

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Posted On: November 18, 2008

New Port Richey paramedic arrested for battery

According to a Sheriff's Office report, New Port Richey Paramedic James McCormick was arrested for battery in relation to an altercation with his girlfriend. Allegedly, he and his girlfriend were arguing when McCormick grabbed her by the throat and started to choke her.

ABC Acton News reports that McCormick's girlfriend scratched him with her fingernails trying to fight back, and thought she was going to die. McCormick told deputies a different side of the story, saying his girlfriend attacked him and he was just defending himself. The Sheriff's Office is now trying to determine if alcohol played a role inthis incident.

McCormick has been arrested and is in jail on the battery charge. Depending on the severity of the woman’s injuries, under Floirda law, McCormick may be charged with a misdemeanor or felony battery--which could potentially hold a penalty of anything from probation to ten years in prison.

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Posted In: Assault and Battery , Pasco County

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Posted On: November 17, 2008

Orlando report shows teachers accused of sex crimes in on the rise

The Orlando Sun Sentinel is reporting that at least 150 Florida teachers have been disciplined in the past three years for accusations arising from sexual misconduct with students. One concerning trend the report showed is sexual misdeeds is rising in Florida – especially among female educators.

Some of the most severe cases resulted in arrests and criminal convictions for sex offenses but the Sentinel's review of teacher-discipline records from the Florida Department of Education found that many of the alleged misconducts did not rise to a criminal level.

Regardless of whether the teachers were criminally charged, the facts of some of these incidents are alarming. Among the “not charged” cases are allegations that a Port Orange teacher sent text messages to a boy, calling him "cutie" and "sexie"; a ninth-grade teacher in Tampa who asked a student about the color of her nipples; and an Orlando coach who used e-mail and instant messages to tell a 13-year-old girl he loved her and wanted their relationship to grow beyond friendship.

Those 150 disciplinary cases don't include the dozens of educators who have been suspended or lost their teaching certificates since 2006 for molesting nonstudents, downloading porn at school, having sex in public and trying to pick up prostitutes. Many of the cases occurred in the South Florida and Tampa Bay areas. In Central Florida, 34 teachers were disciplined in the three-year period, including 12 from Orange County, 11 from Volusia, four from Polk, three from Seminole, three from Brevard and one in Lake.

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Posted In: Sex Crimes

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Posted On: November 8, 2008

New Port Richey cop resigns after allegedly driving drunk

The St. Petersburg Times is reporting that Officer Christopher Sutherlin, accused last week of fleeing an accident in which he was driving drunk, resigned from the police force this week.

According to Florida Highway Patrol reports, last week Sutherlin rear-ended a pickup on U.S. 19 north of Main Street and sped away. The pickup driver followed Sutherlin until he was forced to pull over because of front-end damage to Sutherlin’s car. Early the next morning, Troopers arrested Sutherlin on charges of leaving the scene of an accident and later gave him a Breathalyzer test, which registered blood alcohol levels of 0.148 and 0.151 blood-alcohol level. (Florida law presumes a driver impaired at 0.08.)

Sutherlin is charged with DUI, DUI with personal injury and DUI with Property Damage as well as Leaving the Scene of an Accident. The Times reports that the police department began an internal investigation of the incident, which also involved Officer Joseph Pascalli, who was riding with Sutherlin. Pascalli, who had been part of the department's DUI unit, is now working the midnight shift on patrol.

In a strange twist to the story, Joshua Vitori--who was driving the pickup Sutherlin struck-- is a former Pasco County paramedic who resigned from his job last week as a result of accusations he stole $300 from a patient in his ambulance.

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Posted by Jason M. Melton | | Email This Post

Posted In: DUI

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Jason M. Melton

Criminal Defense Attorney

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