The 23-year-old was labeled a sexual predator so he will be on a register when he is released.
By CHRIS TISCH
Published February 26, 2004
CLEARWATER - A man arrested last summer on charges that he sexually abused two teenage girls on Clearwater Beach has been sentenced to nine years in prison.
Jose D. Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of sexual battery and lewd or lascivious molestation.
His prison sentence will be clipped by 239 days, the amount of time he has served in jail since his July 2003 arrest.
Cruz, whose last known address is in Clearwater, also was designated a sexual predator, which will require him to register with state authorities when he is released.
Clearwater police said Cruz gave alcohol to two 13-year-old girls who were vacationing on Clearwater Beach.
The girls, both from Sarasota, were staying at a local hotel when they met Cruz on the beach.
Days later, they met him again and he gave them alcohol. He molested one of the girls, then forced sex on the other girl while she was almost passed out, police said.
The girls returned to Sarasota and told their parents, who called police. The girls then provided detectives a detailed description of their assailant.
Detectives drove to the site on the beach where the crime occurred. As they returned to the police station, they saw Cruz at Cleveland Street and Fort Harrison Avenue.
Cruz was taken to police headquarters, where he admitted to the crimes.
