FL- East Naples man no longer will be branded sex offender

9-16-2008 Florida:

A judge on Monday granted Christopher Forsyth’s petition to remove the lifelong sex-offender designation from the public record

Christopher William Forsyth admits he had sex with a 14-year-old girl when he was 18.

But the former East Naples man served a year in jail, is on sex-offender probation and doesn’t want to be branded a sex offender for the rest of his life.

On Monday, 22-year-old Forsyth became the third Collier County defendant to have his sex-offender designation removed under the state’s new Romeo and Juliet Law, which allows a judge to remove a sex-offender label. Collier Circuit Judge Fred Hardt granted defense attorney Janeice Martin’s petition to remove the 2006 designation.

"The Legislature passed the Romeo and Juliet Law for exactly this reason," Hardt said. "He still will be on sex-offender probation and he will have a conviction on his record for the rest of his life."

The ruling means Forsyth’s photo won’t be on a sex-offender Web site, he won’t have to register his address for life, and he doesn’t have to stay away from schools, parks, day care centers, bus stops, or any other places children congregate.

"I feel relieved," a smiling Forsyth said as he left court. "Now I can build my future."

Forsyth, who now lives in Dixie County, said the sex-offender designation would have prevented him from attending his children’s games or events when they’re older. "I made a mistake. ... My kids, they really do love me," he said of his children, ages 2 1/2 and 3 months, noting that it would have hurt them more if he couldn’t attend their events.

The "Romeo and Juliet Law," named after Shakespeare’s tragic teenage lovers, attempts to correct overly harsh penalties and prison terms imposed over the years. Florida’s law went into effect in July 2007, following similar laws a year earlier in Connecticut, Indiana and Texas.

Although underage sex is still a crime here, judges can remove the sex-offender designation in certain cases. A victim must be between 14 and 17, a willing participant, and can be no more than four years younger than the offender. The offense must be the only sex crime on the defendant’s record. The law allows judges to withhold the designation at sentencing, but also allows past defendants to petition for removal — and that’s what Forsyth and two other Collier County defendants did.

"We were pleased when the Legislature decided to pass this law — and Christopher Forsyth is precisely the type of individual contemplated by the law," Forsyth’s defense attorney, Janeice Martin, said after Forsyth’s petition was granted.

The ruling was the second for Martin, who was the first to have a petition granted in Collier County. In November, Circuit Judge Frank Baker granted a petition for Joseph Paul Richards, 27, of Naples, after Martin and Assistant State Attorney Deborah Schwartz stipulated he fit the requirements for removal of sex-offender status.

Last month, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Krier granted a petition filed by defense attorney Lee Hollander for Lazaro Rodriguez, who had sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 19. He was sentenced to a year in jail and is serving six years of sex-offender probation.

The number of offenders who have had their sex-offender designations removed was not immediately available Monday from the state Department of Corrections, but 28-year-old Anthony Croce of St. Petersburg was the first to qualify for removal from Florida’s registry of sex offenders just after the law took effect last summer. Croce, who pleaded no contest to lewd and lascivious behavior, was 17 when he began having sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend. Her mother pressed charges when he turned 18.

Forsyth had sex with a 14-year-old girl, who also had sex with his 17-year-old friend, who wasn’t prosecuted. Forsyth testified she would allow him into her gated community and they’d drive away to have sex. In September 2006, he pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of lewd act on a child less than 16 and Hardt sentenced him to a year in county jail and three years of sex offender probation, which he began in August 2007.

On Monday, Forsyth’s probation officer, Horace Craft, testified that when his boss asked officers to review their cases to see if anyone fell under the Romeo and Juliet Law, Forsyth was the only one of his 30 probationers that he suggested. "He just stands out," Craft testified.

"From the day I met him ... I was impressed with his attitude," Craft said, adding that he admitted having sex with the girl and hanging around with the wrong crowd. "He was so happy to be out of jail and on probation. He wanted to get this behind him. He wanted to do good and do the right thing. ... You couldn’t ask for a better person."

His boss, Todd Begue, who testified by phone from Mobile, Ala., said Forsyth loads trucks, handles paperwork, and he trusts him to oversee $14 million worth of products. "I feel very strongly that he’s learned from his mistake and has a pretty good outlook on life," testified Begue, a former corrections officer. "I think he really, really deserves a chance."

A family friend testified the father of two had turned his life around and didn’t deserve to be branded for life, and Forsyth testified he took responsibility for his past and admitted not talking to the girl’s mother because he was scared and the mother was accusing him of rape, when it was consensual.

During closing arguments, Martin said the case meets the spirit of the law and that Forsyth adheres to all conditions of probation, is remorseful, works hard, and shouldn’t be punished forever for his past. She said the public is protected from real sex offenders. "Your honor, if Mr. Forsyth doesn’t qualify for the statute, I don’t know who else would," Martin argued, calling his conviction a "youthful discretion."

Assistant State Attorney Steve Maresca argued against it, contending they weren’t high school lovers and that the girl didn’t even know Forsyth’s real name, only one attached to his friend’s cellphone. He argued that Forsyth’s probation should be violated for living with his own children — Hardt refused to hear that — and that the law was enacted for those who immediately admit wrongdoing. Martin pointed out that wasn’t part of the law and that Forsyth admits denying responsibility initially because he was young and scared. ..News Source.. by AISLING SWIFT