Florida uses the term “sexual battery” instead of “rape.” And its statutes specifically define that sexual battery takes place when the victim has a mental defect or disease which renders them temporarily or permanently incapable of appraising the nature of his or her conduct.
Daniel Michael Farris, 27, was arrested in Largo FL on June 21. He was charged with Grand Larceny and scheming to defraud someone of less than $20,000. But even though his hoax allegedly consisted of defrauding a mentally handicapped woman of sex, claiming he was a friend of country singer Jason Aldean, no sexual battery charges were filed against him. Farris readily admitted that he defrauded her in order to get cash for his addiction to prescription drugs.
Farris’s name will not appear on the sex offender registry. Both society and his victim deserve better.
It is a disgrace that people with disabilities aren’t held up with the same rights to justice. I have worked with children and teens who have disabilities for the past 20 years. They often do not fully comprehend what happens, but they feel the pain- they know they have been mistreated. I did not know about this. Thank you for sharing.
I agree. The same mental challenges that makes her easy prey also keeps her from pursuing justice for the harm she was dealt. The Prosecutor should know better.