Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

A bill approved Tuesday allows victims who suffered abuse at two Florida reform schools to seek financial compensation for their suffering. 

The passing of the bill (6-1 by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee) means that former inmates at the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna and the Florida School for Boys at Okeechobee are now eligible to get state certification for any instances of physical, mental or sexual abuse. This in turn allows the victims to file lawsuits for their claims of physical and psychological abuse that occurred at the reform schools between 1940 and 1975. 

Family members of any former inmates who have passed away would not be granted the right to file a claim on their behalf. 

A formal apology by the Legislature for the abuse at these facilities was issued in 2017. The Dozier reform school opened its doors in 1900 and closed down in 2011. In 1995, the Okeechobee school was opened to help with overcrowding at Dozier. 

There were 55 nameless graves found at some point over the years at the Dozier School, and it is believed that the facility is responsible for at least 100 deaths. 

Reform schools were started as an alternative for jail or prison for troubled youth. These facilities are now called youth correctional institutions and are highly regimented and follow a penitentiary-like model with the hopes of providing youth that are struggling with emotional, behavioral, and mental health issues the support, structure, and personalized help they need to create a better life. However, many of these facilities are rampant with predators who harm the juveniles in their care, and sadly this abuse often goes unreported. 

Minors in reform schools or youth correctional institutions reside in dormitory-like rooms or jail cells. Administrators, police officers, teachers, and other adults working in the facility tend to become surrogate parents and spend most of the day with the youth in their care and even supervise them at night. This additional access makes it even easier for instances of abuse to occur. Sexual predators are able to abuse innocent children countless times. Due to the fact that children in these facilities are already labeled as “troubled” or “criminals” they are less likely to report any abuse because they do not think anyone will believe them or that the abuse will be worse if they do tell.  

Parents who must leave their children in these facilities must place a  great deal of trust in the institution’s ability to protect their children from harm and provide a safe haven. Our Florida Sexual Abuse Victims Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can help you hold the institution responsible your abuse or your child’s abuse accountabel for failing to protecting the youth left in their care. Even if the abuse occurred years ago, we are here to go over all of your legal remedies with you. We want to make sure you fully understand all of your legal options for achieving justice.  Continue reading

A youth track and field coach in Miami Gardens was recently arrested for raping a 14-year-old athlete in 2010 and molesting her sister last year, according to reports. 

The 45-year-old coach was charged with numerous counts of sexual battery on a minor and lewd and lascivious molestation on a child. 

The man’s accuser, now 24, said she recently found out the man molesting her younger sister which gave her the courage to speak up now about what the man did to her. 

The woman told police that the man sexually assaulted her three times when she was an athlete on his track team. She said he had sex with her twice in his car and once at his apartment. She was at the man’s apartment because she was spending the night due to an early track meet the next day. 

The woman told authorities she never reported the abuse when it was happening because she knew the man was well liked in the community and she did not want to get in trouble. 

The woman went on to tell police that the man made sexual advances against her younger sister in 2018 when she was 14. In July of 2019 he allegedly offered the teen $200 in exchange for sex. Then, reports indicate that later that month the man apparently came to the teen’s home unannounced while she was alone and tried to kiss her and pull her shirt down in her bedroom, but she was able to get away from the man. 

He is currently jailed with no bond. 

The man is claiming he is innocent and will fight the charges. 

Athletic coaches are placed in a position of trust and authority with children. We don’t like to think that someone that devotes their time to young kids would mistreat or harm them in any way, but the sad truth is that sexual predators are everywhere and they only think of themselves and their deviant needs. 

Those that are victims of sexual assault by their athletic coaches usually suffer emotional and psychological harm that far exceeds any physical injuries. They are often left unable to trust or build meaningful and fulfilling relationships with others, which can lead to self-destructive behavior due to their shame and low self-esteem all dating back to the abuse. 

Our Florida Athletic Coach Sexual Abuse Lawyers at Whittel & Melton have significant experience throughout the state wherein child abuse is alleged and brought to light in the courtroom. By working together we can provide you with the support, understanding, and legal expertise you need to expose what happened to you and achieve a sense of justice for the physical, emotional, and psychological damage that was unfairly inflicted upon you. 

We know how brave abuse victims are to come forward and share their story. We encourage anyone that might be afraid to speak out to let us help. Research studies have been conducted that indicate that 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 12.5 boys will be victims of child sex assault/abuse. Moreover, around 80% of child sex abuse victims will not tell anyone about their trauma until they are adults. We want to assure you that there is absolutely no shame in confronting what was done to you. We will keep your case and any details you share strictly confidential while we guide you through what to expect from the legal process. We will always strive to meet your best interests.

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The Louisiana State University athletic department is accused of ignoring numerous complaints regarding sexual assaults involving a top running back in 2016 and 2017, Derrius Guice.

Two women made complaints to LSU officials regarding the football player raping them and another said the man snapped a nude photo of her and shared it with his teammates, but the school did nothing to investigate the complaints despite the fact that the school’s own policies along with federal laws require them to take all sexual misconduct allegations seriously and report them to the Title IX office for investigation as well as campus police when these alleged incidents occur on school property. 

USA Today looked into the the school’s alleged misconduct and found that the school ignored sexual misconduct repeatedly, not just with their star running back. 

Their investigation found that at least seven LSU officials were aware of wide receiver Drake Davis strangling and physically abusing his girlfriend, but failed to take action against the man and continued to let the abuse occur. 

In another incident, a fraternity member sexually assaulted two women, but the school refused to move him out of classes he shared with one of the victims and ignored a third complaint made against him by a third female victim. 

There were three other cases where male students were found responsible for sexual assaults and LSU let them stay in school rather than suspending or expelling them. The men received a probation period called a “deferred suspension.” 

And in a fourth case, a male student who was found to be stalking and sexually harassing another student was also given a deferred suspension. 

LSU has released statements saying they are focused on putting an end to sexual assaults on campus, but their actions show otherwise. 

The school has been “hush hush” regarding how they have handled numerous sexual misconduct complaints dating back to 2016 and continuing through 2020, many involving football players that include two prized players from the 2020 national championship team. The school has refused to release several campus police reports, which has resulted in them being sued. 

You can read more about USA Today’s investigation findings here. 

Title IX and Sexual Misconduct on College Campus

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 covers sexual assault, sexual harassment and sexual discrimination in high schools, colleges, and universities. Under federal laws, high schools, colleges, and universities must have procedures in place when it comes to handling claims of sexual misconduct on campus. Once the school has been made aware of a student who is the alleged victim of sexual misconduct, they are required to take immediate action and launch an investigation into the matter. They cannot ignore any of these claims as they are required by law to put an end to the misconduct and prevent any further incidents of misconduct. 

There is Help for Victims of Campus Sexual Attacks 

If you have bene the victim of a sexual assault on a college campus in Florida, you are not alone. Sexual misconduct on college campuses happens at a disturbing rate. Our Campus Sexual Assault Victims Attorneys at Whittel & Melton are ready and able to help you through this difficult time. We take these cases very seriously and will fight aggressively to make sure your abuser and the school that let this abuse happen are held accountable for their actions.  

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