Preferential treatment? Former Seminole County judicial candidate admits sex with teen, gets house arrest
A former candidate for Seminole County judge was sentenced to house arrest and probation as part of a plea deal to lesser charges for having sex with a teenage girl who worked on his campaign, court documents show.
XXXXX XXXXX was initially arrested and charged with unlawful sexual activity with a 17-year-old in September 2019.
Under a plea deal with the state Jones was not sentenced to any sexual offenses. The 42-year-old entered a guilty plea to child abuse, a third-degree felony, and tampering with evidence, also a third-degree felony.
On Thursday, a judge sentenced Jones to 2 years house arrest and 8 years probation. He must obey by a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and can only leave the home for work. He was also ordered to have no contact with the victim and must pay for her ongoing counseling services.
As part of the plea Jones admitted he had sex with a 17-year-old and then attempted to cover it up. He washed the sheets, deleted the Ring security video from two cameras that captured the victim in the home and bought the teen the “after morning” pill. He said he also only communicated with the victim via Snapchat “which was deleteable.”
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I’ve known for years that law enforcement (cops, judges, prosecutors) absolutely get preferential treatment when they violate a law, because they feel they ARE the law. I do agree with CherokeeJack, this is typical… the law enforcement guy gets a slap on the hand while people forced to register for life are being punished by laws that didn’t exist the day they were arrested! SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, PEUGH v. UNITED STATES, CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT concluded that the Ex Post Facto Clause is violated when a defendant is sentenced under Guidelines promulgated after he committed his criminal acts and the new version provides a higher sentencing range than the version in place at the time of the offense. The Registry is nothing but a cash cow for law enforcement – they are getting paid money each year from the federal government for each and every SO they have under their jurisdiction.
Welcome to the corrupt state of Florida where the fact is that you can get all the justice you can buy. King Solomon summed it up well in Ecclesiastes 3: 16 “I saw under the sun in the place of judgment wickedness, and in the place of justice iniquity.”
The powerful have always had preferential treatment – why does this surprise anyone – especially in Florida?
Perhaps that is why we continue to be abused with more pilled on each year – we bend over and accept with almost ZERO push-back!
Lawsuits going on…really? Seems like money is collected with no tangible results in sight.
Maybe in a few decades after most of us are dead and buried (wait – are we allowed to have our corpses buried with the decent people) – there will be change?
I would give this article to everyone that is charged with attempting or actually had sex with someone under 18 and have them present it to the judge every time. How could they give a harsher sentence to you than they did their colleague and not be looked at as giving preferential treatment
No hope
And what about those of us added “Retroactively” after the registry was created and we had already been sentenced when there was no registry?
Where was our chance to make a deal or plea to avoid the registry?
How is this not illegal, immoral and unconstitutional. I really am starting to believe we are a branch of Russia and not the Country of the proud and the Free.
My case was from 1991. No registry exisited. When I got sentenced, no registry existed. And yet, when the registry came out, I suddenly had to register. I had no say in the matter and could not go back and withdraw my plea.
And yet, in 2021 when the registry does exist, this guy gets to bargin his way out of registering????
Mind blown and exploded on my computer screen, hand me a tissue. Wait, better make it a case of tissues. Something stinks.
You are not alone. Mine was in ’93. Pleading down to a non-registerable offense has been common since Oct 97. Not fair we did not get that chance.
Gl
I knew a registry was in the works but it was NEVER mentioned in my sentencing. If I had been released just a month ealier, I wouldn’t have had to register. And yet, I shouldn’t (As many others) have to register at all due to ex post facto application.
Law are meant to be broken , bended, twisted, turned, negotiated, and other nefarious actions judges take to interpret the law as They want it to mean. To Hell with justice.
Yes Jack we need to keep on this and get some real answers. But who do we complain too?. Everyone is on this guy’s side!!. We probably won’t even get his name because he is special. BS,BS,BS!!!. This kind of s_ _ t keeps pilling up. It is maddening, and so on and so forth something has to break and changes are way past due!!!!…….
Wow! Sex with a minor with no registry? The State agreed to this?! Preferential for sure.