My question involves criminal records for the state of: Florida
My question involves criminal law for the state of: Florida
In 2005 I was arrested as an accessory to sexual battery and false imprisonment. I took a plea of no contest after nearly a year of being held without bail and from the beginning i requested a speedy trial. I was extradited to Florida the beginning of March of 2005 - I was in-front of a judge for the first time on the 30th day that I'd spent in Broward County Jail. I Told the court appointed attorney upon our first meeting that I wanted a speedy trial. He said; let me come talk to you first and give you the deposition. Approximately 30 days later he visited me and gave me depositions and asks that I give him until my late May court date to question the alleged victim. I never see him or a Judge in court and didn't speak to him again until July. In July I was told on the phone during a 3-way call with my mother on the line that the alleged victims statement was taken by him and that it absolutely exonerates me and my release would be at my August court date, I'm ecstatic my mom gives me the "hang in there son" support and I go to my rack happy that night. Then the test of time lengthens and Hurricanes set my court dates back from that point forward. Katrina being one of them. I believe it was late September the next time I spoke to the attorney. Everything changed by then. It went from me going home to "the state is picking up charges and they've offered a plea, 10 years prison". I rejected the agreement and demanded a speedy trial irately. It didn't happen. Time goes on and I got to court in late December or early January and my mother is in there crying. We have counsel in a private room to the side of the courtroom and he tells me that the sexual battery charge would be dismissed and I would not have to register as a sex-offender and I would only serve 18-months prison and with the time I had served being credited toward the sentence or I can still have my trial but he could not get the court to set a bail and trials like this can take over a year. I ask him to get allowance for my mother to speak to me when we re-enter the courtroom so he can run it by her and I at the same time and I could ask her what she thinks I should do. He tells the exact same thing to her. I express to my Mother and the attorney my biggest concern; as long as i'm not a sex offender Mom I can agree to the plea I just want to be home by my 21'st birthday, I refuse to say i'm guilty and will only accept a no contest plea. I knew nothing about law. I thought no contest was somehow going to make a difference. Nothing was noted in court about what 787.02 would cause, but nothing was noted to say I wouldn't be sex-offender so I guess it's a catch-22. Well I go to what inmates said was the roughest youth prison in Florida deal with the circumstances and I am released about 3 months after my birthday. I leave Florida Immediately. I find out maybe a year after release while in the car with a friend during a routine traffic stop in California that I am a sex-offender. I check the internet and it's even worse, the site says i have a sexual battery. So I contact the attorney who represented me and he tells me that it would be taken down from the FDLE website just give it some time and he'll work on it. A year goes by with me contacting him regularly and nothing changes. I lived in California since release so I couldn't exactly go down the block and talk to him, so I would leave messages Monday through Friday and get returned calls every blue moon. Over the course of the next year I have family contact him for me. My grandmother and my mother both speak to him, he tells them both that its a mistake and it will be fixed but it takes time. Another year. And Another... its been 5 years now. I've never registered and never will. But this website say's if I go to Florida I have to. I spoke to people from the website and they say the burden of proof is on me, but they contacted the attorney and my account of the story was verified and she will look into it further. If they are unable to resolve this any further internally, is there anything that can be done? I have been unable to find anything similar to my circumstances. I would like to thank anyone who offers me insight beforehand. I'm sorry if I didn't write this out very well, this really hurts to talk about and I ran through it as quickly as i could without looking back over it. If I left out any information necessary for advice to be given please inform me and I will elaborate further. Additionally - My co-defendant whom was handcuffed to me during the plea acceptance hearing and whom I keenly remember signing the same papers as me, was given a 787.01 int charge and is not required to register as a sex-offender. The document that the FDLE acquired from the Broward clerk of courts is not my signed plea agreement from the day of acceptance. I Don't know if this makes a difference...

