Two Juvenile Football Players Charged With Sex Offenses

Two high school football players now face sexual battery charges after being arrested after school one day, The Florida Times-Union reports.

Jacksonville juveniles who are arrested is a tragedy because a conviction, and sometimes even just an arrest, can severely limit their potential. But it is important to note that an arrest isn’t a conviction and is no proof that a crime was committed.Teens’ brains aren’t as developed as adults’ brains and therefore they sometimes don’t fully understand and process consequences and other functions. This can go for the alleged perpetrators as well as the alleged victims. Especially in a Jacksonville sex crime, sometimes a broken heart, ex-girlfriend or boyfriend can make accusations of sexual assault or molestation that aren’t true as a form of payback.

This happens often in sex cases involving children because they don’t realize the damage that can be done when they make such allegations. But it can happen with teens, as well. That’s why an aggressive and experienced Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney must be brought in to defend against the allegations, which, in sex-based crimes, are always serious.

In this case, the two 17-year-old defendants are accused of assaulting a female student while they were watching a movie at her home after school in August, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office reports. One of the teens is also accused in a second alleged act in a vehicle hours after the first.

The female student told police that the two were at her house and they were watching a movie in her room when they allegedly took off her clothes and took turns assaulting her, despite her efforts to get them to stop.

In the second alleged incident, one of the teen suspects supposedly texted a girl a few hours after that incident and asked to meet him. She and another friend met he and one of his friends, where they got into a vehicle together. She told police that he began making sexual advances and assaulted her before she got out of the vehicle.

There are some things that don’t add up here or aren’t addressed in the news article. For one, it would be interesting to know when these alleged victims contacted police to report these incidents. In some cases, if the alleged victim waited some time, it could be inferred that they regretted having consensual sex or got in trouble with a parent and then made up the allegation to police.

In the incident in the vehicle, it will be interesting to see whether the stories of the four people inside a vehicle say happened. It’s difficult to envision a situation where a person, teenager or not, would attempt to commit a crime in front of three potential witnesses.

These questions, and many others, must be posed by an experienced Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney in the course of the defense’s investigation of the case. A defendant, juvenile or adult, must have solid representation in order to ensure they get a fair trial. more If you need a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call Mussallem and Associate, PA at 904-365-5200 for a free consultation.

More Blog Entries:

Former Jacksonville Police Officer Faces Sex Charges: Sept. 4, 2011 Additional Resources:

2 Orange Park football players arrested on sexual assault charges, by Charles Broward, The Florida Times-Union