FL- Father says sex offender label not based on truth

12-31-2008 Florida:

ST. PETERSBURG — The family of Josiah Wineberger, the 5-year-old injured by a falling speaker at BayWalk last year, said Tuesday that they could be in a new home within days.

The family is struggling financially and living in a motel after electrical problems forced them from their rental home. But thanks to the public's help, the family said they soon could afford to rent a new house.

But a St. Petersburg Times reader raised this question in an e-mail: "Everyone wants to help the child but may not want to aid a sex offender."

The writer was referring to father John Wineberger's criminal record. In 2006 he pleaded no contest to charges that he had sex with three teen girls.

But Wineberger denied Tuesday that he had sex with them. He said he took a plea deal because it allowed him to stay with his kids — and because he couldn't afford a court fight.

"I was accused of something I didn't do," Wineberger said, adding: "There was no choice."

Court records show a judge adjudicated him guilty of two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and one count of committing a lewd and lascivious act in the presence of a child under the age of 16.

The incidents took place in 1998 and 1999, according to court records. Wineberger was 27 at the time of the 1998 incident. The girls' ages were not disclosed in records, but the two sexual activity charges apply to minors ages 16 to 17.

Wineberger believes the allegations arose from a business dispute over control of an 'NSync-like boy band that he belonged to called Second Nature.

He said he left the band in 1999 after a detective questioned him about the sex allegations. A warrant was issued in 2000, but he wasn't arrested until 2005, when he already had a family.

Wineberger was sentenced to the 75 days he spent in jail after his arrest. He said he took the state's plea bargain despite being labeled a sex offender because it came without restrictions, namely that it would allow him to be around all children, including his own.

"I can be with my family," he said. "I can go to my kids' school."

The Winebergers have four children. Sandy Wineberger works in accounts payable for a local company, but her husband, a former electronics salesman, is looking for a job.

He cares full time for Josiah, who was left brain-damaged and requires constant care. They are suing BayWalk.

The public came to their aid after their rental was declared a hazard Friday night. The Times has received 22 e-mails and 69 phone calls from people who want to help the family.

The father hopes the public will still want to help his family.

"I don't worry about me," he said. "I worry about them."

Times staff writer Sherri Day contributed to this report. ..News Source.. by Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer