I met a 24 year old man when I was 15, and we continued to have intercourse up until recently. He turned my life upside down, and physically abused me recently, the justice system failed me and he was out in one night, despite my battered body. To prevent this from happening to anyone else, I am seeking out any alternative actions I may be able to take. Currently, I am 19, and he is 28. I read that statutory rape is a second degree felony which has a statute of limitations of UP TO 3 years to press charges. I am semi-familiar with Florida Statutory laws, but am still a bit confused. Since the last ILLEGAL occurance of activity would have been before my 18th birthday(He would have been 27), less then two years ago, it seems like I would still have time to file charges against him. Is this time frame correct??? Also, what evidence would I need to support my case? I have SEVERAL sexually explicit messages from his cellphone saved into my email account, with listed dates before my 18th birthday. Would this be enough to back me up? How would I go about filing? The last question is, what would the likely penalty be for a charge like this?
Any help/answers would be greatly appreciated.

