Florida legislators might consider tweaking the state's sex-offender law after the prosecution of a couple seen having a midday romp on the beach, radio talk-show caller "Matt from Fort Walton Beach" said on the air Tuesday.
"I think we may look at those instances where you don't have someone who is harmed by the offense, as much as harmed by the viewing of the offense, and perhaps treat those differently," said the caller, better known as Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach.
Gaetz, a tough-on-crime Panhandle Republican, called the morning show on SiriusXM Radio channel POTUS, which in this case stands for "Politics of the United States."
The radio topic of the hour was a 2½-year sentence given Monday to Jose Caballero, 40, the man involved in an amorous seaside encounter in Manatee County that drew international headlines.
Caballero and Elissa Alvarez, 21, were found guilty in May on charges of lewd and lascivious behavior.
The 2014 incident at Bradenton Beach was videotaped, and a secondhand account was given during the trial that a 3-year-old girl was among those who witnessed the sandy coupling.
Caballero and Alvarez are now members of Florida's list of sexual offenders and predators. Caballero received additional jail time because he previously served eight years in prison for cocaine trafficking.
On the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's website, Alvarez's crime is listed as "lewd or lascivious exhibition, victim under 16, offender 18 or older."
Gaetz had called POTUS to defend the state's sexual-offender law, which was strengthened a year ago while he chaired the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee, a fact he noted on air.
"We seem to attract our fair share of crazies in the Sunshine State, and we want to protect our citizens," Gaetz said while on the air. "That's why we're the only state in America that has a 50-year mandatory prison sentence for anyone who rapes a child under the age of 12."
Gaetz clarified Wednesday that he's not in favor of scaling back the recent changes to the sex-offender law, which focused on violent sexual predators. But he said based upon talks with some colleagues, an analysis might be sought to determine if reforms are needed regarding how people get put on the sex-offender list or if the state needs to "encourage different prosecutorial conduct."
Assistant State Attorney Anthony Dafonseca, who initially sought 15 years for Caballero, said the sentence holds Caballero accountable for the publicly seen sexual act as well as for his past actions.
"If you think about 2:30 in the afternoon on a crowded beach," Dafonseca told reporters after the sentencing. "It takes a certain type of person to do that in front of children a few feet away.”
Rep. Katie Edwards, a Plantation Democrat who discussed the Manatee County case with Gaetz during this spring's legislative session, said Wednesday that there may be better ways to deal with people such as Caballero and Alvarez.
"I think the average Floridian says, 'We don't want people having sex in public places,'" Edwards said. "But it's the imposition of the sex-offender's status, and especially the jail time. I think that there are better ways to deal with it, and that is something we should take up as a policy measure."
Gaetz, on the air, noted that Florida's sex-offender law was toughened after the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported in 2013 that nearly 600 sexual predators had been released only to be convicted of new sex offenses --- including more than 460 child molestations, 121 rapes and 14 murders.
"Certainly that 2½-year sentence seems a bit punitive given the nature of that offense," Gaetz told radio host Michael Smerconish. "But in Florida, I think an important context for your listeners is that we've had a series of very tragic outcomes."
Gaetz's father, Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, declared several times that the 2014 legislation would make the state "scorched earth" for sexually violent predators.
PLAKON PITCHES PASTOR PROTECTIONS
Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, intends to file a bill for the 2016 legislative session that would seek to safeguard clergy members from being forced to perform marriage ceremonies contrary to their principles.
Plakon went on Facebook to announce that he and Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, plan to seek passage of the "Pastor Protection Act." The act, to be based on a new Texas law, is a reaction to last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry.
Nadine Smith, executive director of the advocacy group Equality Florida, questioned the lawmakers' proposal. She noted that ministers already have the right to refuse to marry same-sex couples, interfaith or interracial couples, or couples in which either or both of the spouses has been divorced.
"This is an invented problem," she said. "This does not exist. It's pandering to a shrinking part of the public." Smith also called the proposal "mean-spirited."
Plakon acknowledged that religious leaders are currently protected from performing marriages to which they object. But he said the landscape is changing so fast that additional protection is needed.
"I hope we can keep this debate on a higher level," he said. "Equality Texas acted to support the bill in that state." Plakon has offered to meet with Equality Florida.
Plakon pointed to a petition on Change.org that indicates support for his planned bill. The petition, spearheaded by the Rev. Chris Walker, head of Cathedral of Power International Church in Clermont, has garnered 17,000 signatures since July 1.
TWEET OF THE WEEK: "FL Chamber ratings are out. Must kill them that 4th yr in row I rank better for business than the Sen they've supported for Pres against me." --- Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater (@JackLatvala).
