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Letter to the editor

Tabloid spilled name in sex case

The British News of the World printed the boy's name and photo in its July 4 issue but later pulled them off its site.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published July 13, 2004

TAMPA - The British Sunday tabloid News of the World is not shy about its racy brand of journalism.

This week's issue features an "exclusive" story about Britney Spears' brief marriage to a hometown friend, quoting him on her considerable enthusiasm for sex. There also is a piece on the marriage woes of Posh Spice and soccer phenom David Beckham.

So when Greco Middle School teacher Debra Lafave was accused last month of having sex with a 14-year-old student, World couldn't help but bite on the story of the pretty newlywed and the teenage boy.

The July 4 issue promised the "naked truth" behind the "school miss" charged with four counts of lewd and lascivious battery. It included sexual details most publications have deemed too lewd to print.

But it was the tabloid's inclusion of the teen's name and school picture that set the story apart from the others.

The case has garnered national and international attention, in large part because Lafave is attractive and because a detailed affidavit was released. But until the World story, the teen's identity had been kept out of reports, as is standard with the names of victims in sexual crimes.

Hillsborough prosecutor Mike Sinacore was so dismayed at the disclosure of the teen's identity that he fired off an e-mail to the news desk at World, which touts itself as Britain's biggest selling Sunday newspaper.

"Please be advised that it is a violation of Florida law for any entity to publish any information identifying a victim of any sexual offense involving sexual battery or lewd acts on a minor," he wrote in the July 7 e-mail. "Any entity or individual who does so shall be liable to the victim for damages."

That law is still on the books, even though the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the statute unconstitutional.

In 1989, The Florida Star, a Jacksonville newspaper, named a rape victim, and the victim sued for damages. The court ruled in favor of the newspaper, which was represented by Times attorney George Rahdert.

Still, to preserve the privacy of alleged and confirmed victims, most media don't print such information.

World editors did not return phone calls from the Times, but Sinacore said it was probably pressure from the teen's mother - not only his e-mail - that prompted the newspaper to edit the story on its Web site so the teen is not identified or pictured.

"It's fair to say she was upset," said Sinacore, who is handling the Lafave case.

He said a local lawyer referred the teen's mother to a lawyer in London, who spoke with World officials about the story.

By the end of last week, the story referred to the 14-year-old only as "the boy" or "the lad" whose "mum caught him boasting and alerted police."

The only pictures running with the story were of Lafave, posing for a car magazine and buying balloons late last month for her husband's 26th birthday.

Lafave, 23 and approaching her first wedding anniversary, was charged last month in Hillsborough and Marion counties with four counts of lewd and lascivious battery and one count of lewd and lascivious exhibition. The felonies each carry maximum sentences of 15 years in prison.

Sinacore said he is glad World removed the teen's identity from its story but said the move might have come too late. Already, Sinacore knows of one Internet chat room that found the picture before it was edited out.

Sinacore said the chat room posted a picture of the body of a stereotypical pimp with the teen's head superimposed on top.

"We do everything we can in this office to protect the victims and their families," Sinacore said. "This (article) certainly doesn't help with victim relations."

- Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at 813 226-3373 or at svansickler@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 12, 2004, 23:51:21]