Page 39 - Florida Sentinel 4-15-22

Crime
State Attorney Convicts 300 Child Predators In 5 Years
Man Arrested
For the last 5 years, Hills- borough State Attorney An- drew Warren has focused on prosecuting those who prey on children. As a result of his concentration on child predators and pedophiles, his office has reached the major milestone of convicting 300 child predators in a five-year span. The figure equates to an average of one predator locked up every four days the courthouse was open.
“The child molesters and pedophiles sent away from Hillsborough County alone over the past five years are enough to fill an entire prison wing,” Warren said.
“We can sleep better knowing that they are sleep- ing behind bars. These are quiet victories.”
The announcement came at the start of Sexual Assault Awareness Month and on the same day as one of those predators, James Walther, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for attacking and rap- ing a 14-year-old family member.
Cases that we all know are so important, but that you likely haven’t heard of. But the survivors in each of these cases know. We want to make sure the community knows, too.”
Examples of child predators taken off the streets
The 300 convictions over the past five years represent an 89% conviction rate in cases where a person is charged with sexually abus- ing or molesting a child.
Some of the predators sent to prison include the fol- lowing:
Michael Negron Santi-
predators put away by Hills- borough prosecutors since April 2017.
“My office handles more than 50,000 cases a year. The cases are just a small percent- age of our overall work, but they are some of the most complicated, most emotional, most devastating, most horri- ble cases we handle. They re- quire the work of experienced prosecutors and dedicated law enforcement investiga- tors,” Warren said.
Last Wednesday, James Walther learned he will spend 35 years in prison.
He was convicted of at- tacking and raping a member of his family. The victim was removed from her mother’s home due to poor living con- ditions when she was 11 years old. Walther and his wife took her in.
When the victim was 14, Walther preyed on her. He pulled her into his bedroom and forced himself on her. In another incident, he attacked her as she was watching TV on the couch — pinning her down and raping her twice.
The victim feared that re- porting the crimes would leave her with nowhere to live. But, four years later, she bravely contacted the Hills- borough County Sheriff’s Of- fice. She then worked with detectives to record a phone call with Walther. During the call, Walther admitted to abusing her, adding that he knew it was illegal.
“These attacks took place in 2016 and 2017, but that trauma still haunts this young woman. Even the movie scene that was playing on TV during one of the at- tacks is still burned into her mind,” Warren said.
For Exploiting Elderly Person
ANDREW WARREN Hillsborough County State Attorney
ago started raping his step- daughter when she was 12 years old. Sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by 10 years of probation.
Brody Karcewski took an eight-year-old victim into the bathroom at Busch Gar- dens and molested her. Sen- tenced to 25 years in prison followed by probation for life.
Reco Johnson crept into the bedroom of his girl- friend’s 15-year-old daughter and forcibly raped her. Sen- tenced to 35 years in prison followed by 10 years of pro- bation.
Kerry Figuried is a 76- year-old man who molested and tried to rape a 12-year- old. Sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by 20 years of probation.
Lewis Matthews sexu- ally abused his girlfriend’s 10-year-old daughter, then poured bleach on her to try to destroy the evidence. Sen- tenced to life in prison.
Sebastian Aquino re- peatedly raped a little girl over the span of several years, with abuse starting when she was only 3 years old.
Those six villains repre- sent only 1/50th of the child
Law enforcement officers arrested a man accused of taking possession of an eld- erly woman’s credit cards and using them for his own bene- fit. The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Austin Brooks, was arrested on April 7, 2022.
According to the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office, the victim, who has been hos- pitalized since October 2021, learned that several unautho- rized purchases were made using the victim’s credit cards. Through investigative means, detectives with the Economic Crimes Section discovered the Brooks made purchases using the victim’s cards at department stores and other local merchants. He also bought cryptocur- rency using those same cards. The victim is at a loss for the purchases Brooks made using cryptocurrency, which totals several thousands of dollars at this time.
Detectives located Brooks and while taking him into custody, detectives also found he was in posses- sion of fentanyl. He faces charges of exploitation of a disabled adult (trust), grand theft third degree ($10,000-
AUSTIN BROOKS
$20,000), and possession of controlled substance.
“It is infuriating that this suspect not only took advan- tage of one of the most vul- nerable in our community, but did so during a time when the victim should only be fo- cused on their recovery in the hospital.
“He thought he would get away with these crimes knowing the victim was hos- pitalized, but our detectives’ thorough investigation led them to Brooks,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said.
Detectives did not reveal how Brooks and the victim knew each other. The investi- gation is continuing and ad- ditional charges are pending.
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