{"id":184,"date":"2018-06-06T15:41:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T19:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clearwatersexcrimeslawyer.com\/?p=184"},"modified":"2026-01-31T09:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T14:26:08","slug":"no-contest-plea-gets-second-look-in-florida-sex-crime-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.criminalattorneyclearwater.net\/blog\/no-contest-plea-gets-second-look-in-florida-sex-crime-case\/","title":{"rendered":"‘No Contest’ Plea Gets Second Look in Florida Sex Crime Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

A person charged with a sex crime in Florida has a few options when it comes to entering a plea in court. In addition to pleading \u201cguilty\u201d or \u201cnot guilty,\u201d the person can also plead \u201cno contest.\u201d This option means the person is not saying that he or she is guilty, only that he or she won\u2019t contest the charges. As a <\/span>recent case<\/span><\/a> out of Florida\u2019s Second District Court of Appeal shows, it is important to be fully aware of the potential penalties you\u2019re facing before you enter a plea. <\/span><\/p>\n

Defendant was charged with various counts of lewd and <\/span>lascivious molestation of a victim under 16 years of age, lewd and lascivious exhibition to a victim under 16 years of age, battery, possession of child pornography, and use of a computer server to seduce, solicit, or entice a child.\u00a0He eventually pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 40 years behind bars. Defendant later appealed the convictions, arguing that he wouldn\u2019t have pleaded no contest if the trial judge had adequately explained to him that he was facing as much as 101 years in prison on the charges. <\/span><\/p>\n

Although the judge may have told Defendant about the maximum penalty for each of the offenses, he said he wasn\u2019t aware that those penalties could be imposed consecutively (back-to-back) rather than concurrently (at the same time). The trial judge sided with state prosecutors, who argued that the judge met his responsibility by simply informing Defendant of the maximum penalties per offense. The judge rejected Defendant\u2019s request to withdraw his plea.<\/span><\/p>\n

Continue reading \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A person charged with a sex crime in Florida has a few options when it comes to entering a plea in court. In addition to pleading \u201cguilty\u201d or \u201cnot guilty,\u201d the person can also plead \u201cno contest.\u201d This option means the person is not saying that he or she is guilty, only that he or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sex-crimes"],"yoast_head":"\nNo Contest Plea Aftermath in Florida Appeals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Facing sex crime charges? See how this ruling on no contest plea gets may help or hurt your defense in Clearwater. Want to know your options? 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