Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
About 281 individuals, some of whom were employed at various Florida amusement parks geared toward children, are facing charges for allegedly attempting meet minors for sex, national media reported.
The nearly 300 individuals who were arrested are facing charges in a Florida operation that targeted human trafficking and alleged child predators, according to national media. Over a dozen of these individuals worked at Disney World and four others were workers at Universal Studios. Widely known as “the most magical place on earth” Disney World is meant to be a child’s haven, seeing approximately 4.35 million children every year, according to annual data.
The sting, which included investigators from the Polk County Sheriff’s office and other agencies, uncovered numerous alleged plans to sexually abuse minors. One Disney employee is accused of making arrangements to meet a 13-year-old boy, national media reported. Instead of the minors they believed they would meet, the 31 suspects encountered investigators who
Leesfield Shapiro: Protecting the Vulnerable
Leesfield Shapiro has spent decades fighting on behalf of the victims and survivors of sexual abuse throughout Florida, many of whom have been children. The firm has gone up against schools, church organizations, summer camps, and other corporations to demand justice and accountability on behalf of our clients. For many, the physical and emotional wounds that they have suffered as a result of sexual abuse have followed them for years and decades after the incident.
It appears that this recent sting involved investigators posing as children online and making arrangements to meet these strangers on the internet. This situation can and does occur all over the world and is a crucial example of why it is so important for parents and guardians to teach their children safe internet practices and to monitor their children’s online behavior and/or interactions. While this occurrence is not uncommon — data gathered by UNICEF estimates 20 million children suffered sexual abuse online in one year, most involving children aged 12 to 17 years old on social media — a stranger online is not always the predator parents need to guard against. More than half of the cases in UNICEF’s reported data involved someone the children already knew. Data has repeatedly shown that many predators are hidden in plain sight. They are the friendly neighbor, the seemingly trustworthy church leader, a presumably harmless coach or teacher. For many children, these adults are anything but.
Numbers from the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) show that every 68 seconds, a person in the United States is sexually assaulted. Every nine minutes, that person is a child. Our attorneys have represented enough clients to know the long-lasting impact that the trauma of sexual abuse can have on victims and survivors. Leesfield Shapiro attorneys represent every client with the dignity, compassion, and tenacity necessary to achieve the best possible outcome for the damages they have suffered.
In an ongoing sexual assault case, Partner Justin B. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Evan Robinson are representing a minor and her family who were visiting Florida on vacation. While the family’s little girl was swimming in the pool of the hotel where they were staying, she was sexually assaulted by a man who snuck onto the property due to negligent security protocols at the location.
The firm is representing a woman who was left traumatized after it was discovered that an employee with the cruise ship she was traveling on had planted hidden cameras in her room and the room of other passengers. Many of the victims who were filmed without their knowledge included children.
This employee was sentenced to 30 years in prison for creating child sex abuse material.
That case is being handled by Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II.
Mr. Pimentel is also representing a minor who was targeted and sexually assaulted by an adult school security guard.
Previous Cases
Mr. Shapiro secured a $16 million settlement for a couple who were brutally attacked while staying as guests at a hotel. The assailant in that case viciously beat both victims. He also raped and sexually assaulted the wife.
Despite the hotel’s known history of violent incidents, management had disregarded repeated recommendations from both law enforcement and a private security firm to employ armed security personnel.
On the day of the incident, the attacker gained unrestricted access to the hotel due to the absence of basic safety measures, such as functioning locks or keycard-secured elevators. He went up to the couple’s floor, where he launched a violent assault—first attacking the husband, then brutally beating and raping the wife. Disturbingly, hotel staff and on-site security witnessed parts of the attack but failed to intervene.
Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, and Trial Attorney Carlos A. Fabano obtained a confidential settlement on behalf four clients who were sexually abused as children by the same church official while they attended parochial schools.
Mr. Shapiro and Mr. Robinson recovered $2 million in a sexual assault.
“This result reflects our commitment to pursuing accountability on behalf of our clients,” Mr. Robinson said of the outcome.
Previously, the firm secured $8.6 million for a camper at a well-known Florida summer camp. A counselor at the camp in that case was later found to have been sexually abusing our minor client. The camp ignored clear warning signs, to the detriment of the child they were entrusted to protect.
Leesfield Shapiro attorneys previously secured a confidential settlement for a child who was flying as an unaccompanied minor on an airline and meant to be under the care of flight officials. During the flight, the child was sexually abused by another passenger.
In a case involving multiple students who were sexually abused by a teacher at a prestigious Florida high school, the victims and survivors were paid multi-million-dollar reparations thanks to the work of Leesfield Shapiro.
The firm represented a Canadian cruise ship passenger who was attacked and raped in her private cabin by a crew member. This crew member used his employee keycard to enter the woman’s room. A multi-million-dollar recover was obtained for the woman in that case.
A store clerk was awarded $1.13 million in a negligent security case at a shopping mall following an incident in which the clerk was robbed and brutally raped.
A hotel maid was raped while on the job by a man who was not a guest who roamed the property without being questioned. Leesfield Shapiro secured a $1 million settlement for the woman.
If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, you are not alone. Help can be found by calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
