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Lafave photos barred from public view

A judge has ruled that graphic shots of the teacher accused of having sex with a student will remain sealed.

By CANDACE RONDEAUX
Published September 21, 2005

TAMPA - Hillsborough Circuit Judge Wayne S. Timmerman barred public access Tuesday to graphic police pictures of Debra Lafave, the former Greco Middle School teacher accused of having sex with her 14-year-old student.

The decision came after a rare detente between the defense and the prosecution in what has become one of the most contentious and closely watched sex offender cases in the country. Hillsborough Assistant State Attorney Mike Sinacore told the judge police followed the letter of the law when they snapped closeups of Lafave's genitals. But he said he agreed that the photos should remain private.

Their release "would make it much more difficult for both the defense and the state to have a fair trial," Sinacore said.

Sinacore said DNA evidence matters more, and he has no plans to present the photos as evidence during Lafave's upcoming trial on charges of lewd and lascivious battery.

Lafave's Tampa attorney, John Fitzgibbons, was relieved.

"Obviously, these photos were a tremendous invasion of privacy for Debbie and we're just glad that the order was entered," Fitzgibbons said.

Until Fitzgibbons filed a motion asking the court to block access to the photos last week, few knew they even existed. Since then, the State Attorney's Office has received three requests to see them. Two local television stations - WTSP-Ch. 10 and WFTS-Ch. 28 - asked for access last week, according to state attorney spokeswoman Pam Bondi. So did a Clearwater resident identified as "T. Riggs," who reportedly badgered the staff at the State Attorney's Office Monday when he was turned away.

Under Florida's public records law, citizens have a right to view a wide range of public documents, including items related to court proceedings. No one, however, appeared in court Tuesday to argue in favor of making the photos available to the public.

"I think it would have been hard for any lawyer to look the court in the eye and explain why his or her client needed these photographs," Fitzgibbons said.

Temple Terrace police detectives obtained a search warrant for Lafave's body after the teenage boy described several distinguishing marks on her shortly before her arrest on June 21, 2004. Under orders from investigators, a female detention deputy at the Orient Road jail subsequently took four photos of Lafave, 25, before placing the accused sex offender's feet in stirrups to shoot pictures of her genitals.

Hillsborough prosecutors and other legal experts contend that it is not unusual to take pictures of a sex offender's genitals for identification purposes.

Outside the courtroom, Fitzgibbons continued to insist that police overstepped their bounds. He also questioned the character and motivation of a detective involved in Lafave's case.

Last week, the State Attorney's Office charged detective John M. Gillespie, 43, with solicitation of prostitution, a second-degree misdemeanor. The charges were filed nearly two months after Tampa police secretly videotaped Gillespie paying a local lingerie shop employee $140 to have sex with him in a room at the Wyndham Westshore hotel on July 28.

Temple Terrace police spokeswoman Paula MacDonald said Tuesday that Gillespie is currently the subject of an internal affairs investigation and was placed on administrative leave with pay a day after the alleged incident at the hotel. MacDonald declined to comment on the focus of the inquiry, but said it is expected to be completed by mid October.

Fitzgibbons said he did not know how or if Lafave's case might be affected by this latest twist with the Temple Terrace police. He said, however, that he plans to question Gillespie closely before Lafave's trial begins Dec. 5.

Candace Rondeaux can be reached at 813 226-3337 or rondeaux@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 21, 2005, 04:48:35]