A criminal case for lewd lascivious molestation against a Weston foot doctor has ended in mistrial after a recorded phone conversation played for jurors violated Florida’s spousal privilege statute. According to the Sun-Sentinel, Broward Circuit Judge Raag Singhal made the call after jurors heard a recorded call between defendant, Dr. Augustine…
Prosecutors say Pelayo Alexander Cerulia grew increasingly brazen with his exploits over the course of two years. He allegedly started by peering into the homes of unsuspecting women. Then he started doing so while touching himself. Then, he began shattering their windows with marbles fired from a slingshot. Then, in the most…
He had just turned 22 and his love interest was 15. Years ago, it might simply have been considered a Romeo-and-Juliet story. But this is modern day, and he was a Pasco County Sheriff’s deputy and that 15-year-old was legally a child. That meant the short video clip the teen…
For sex and sexual contact with two 17-year-old girls, a 30-year-old former Army recruiter will serve 12 years in federal prison, following a plea agreement for which child pornography charges were dropped. Jose Nieves Jr., from Sunrise, pleaded guilty to two counts of enticing a child to engage in sexual…
Marino Vigna was a dentist who primarily treated geriatric patients suffering from dementia in nursing homes throughout Southeast Florida. The Florida Attorney General’s office launched an investigation back in 2012 when they received information indicating the dentist may have been engaging in fraudulent billing practices. There were allegations he was…
When a prospective juror in Palm Beach County stated in front of 70 others that a rape case defendant didn’t deserve a fair trail and ought to be “hung outside,” it was opined by the judge to be an attempt to get out of jury duty. The judge said it…
A 52-year-old massage parlor employee in Margate was arrested following an undercover investigation by local police. Authorities say Jinping Yang, was routinely offering to masturbate male massage customers (known as a “happy ending”), and additionally was working as a masseuse without a license. Yang allegedly charged $45 for a half-hour…
One might say the outcome of Xiaoqin Li’s criminal case was a “happy ending” of sorts. On the one hand, the former massage parlor owner did plead guilty to three criminal charges, including two for running a house of prostitution and another for money laundering. For that, she’ll have to…
A Florida man convicted of burglary of an occupied dwelling and sexual battery will receive a new trial after an appeals court agreed the trial court wrongly entered evidence of statements he made to authorities prior to his arrest. In Moss v. Florida, the state’s 1st DCA found there was…
A man who reportedly directed a high-stakes prostitution ring in South Florida – one with ties to a law firm tainted by a huge Ponzi scheme scandal – has been sentenced to three years in federal prison. The 51-year-old defendant admitted guilt for arranging encounters with prostitutes from his “high-end…