FL- Mark Lunsford may drop suit against Citrus County

3-20-2008 Florida:

INVERNESS -- The father of Jessica Lunsford says he's willing to drop his lawsuit against the Citrus County Sheriff's Office if the department changes its training procedures.

Mark Lunsford told ABC Action News this morning that the proposal has been communicated to the Sheriff's Office and that everyone has agreed to sit down and talk on Monday.

In a news release late Thursday morning, the Sheriff's Office said, "Although the Sheriff's Office has not been officially notified of this change by Lunsford or his attorneys, the agency is welcoming the message."

"We're relieved that no one will have to relive the pain of this event again in a court setting," said Sheriff Jeff Dawsy, via phone from out of state.
"Of course, we are still confident in our investigation and how we handled it."

The news release goes on to say, "Allegedly, attorneys for the shock jock (Bubba the Love Sponge) and Mark Lunsford worked together to come to an agreement that would end the suit."

In February, Lunsford filed a letter of intent to sue the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, the County Commission, and the Florida department of Law Enforcement for negligence.

In a certified letter to Sheriff Jeffrey Dawsy, lawyers for Mark Lunsford spelled out his intent to sue for "harm suffered because of the reliance upon the express promise or assurance of assistance which was carried out in a negligent manner, which placed Jessica Lunsford in a foreseeable zone of risk."

The letter went on to say, "The negligence of (the) Citrus County Sheriff's Office and (the) Florida Department of Law Enforcement directly and indirectly led to the death of Jessica Lunsford."

Sheriff Dawsy denied any negligence saying, "There's only one person responsible for Jessica's death and that's John Couey...don't point the finger at us."

9-year-old Jessica Lunsford was abducted from her home in Homosassa in February 2005, then raped and murdered by 47-year-old John Couey.

Three days after he abducted her, Couey bound the girl's wrists with speaker wire, placed her in two garbage bags, and buried her alive in a shallow grave, where she suffocated.

The case gained both national and international attention.

In August, 2007 an Inverness judge sentenced Couey, a convicted sex offender, to death for kidnapping, raping, and murdering Jessica.

Following her death, Mark Lunsford pursued legislation resulting in the Jessica Lunsford Act, also known as Jessica's Law, requiring tighter restrictions on sex offenders and longer prison sentences for sex offenders. ..more.. by ABC News