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Luring children now illegal

Gov. Bush makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to entice a child into a car or a building, regardless of the person’s intent.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published June 26, 2006

TAMPA — A frightening moment for a young girl helped patch a hole in state law.

In August , a man tried to lure 11-year-old Sonia Acevedo into his truck by offering her a wad of cash. Police found the suspect, but they were frustrated to learn that they couldn’t arrest him.

“You know, the problem was, we didn’t have a crime,” police Chief Steve Hogue told reporters Monday.
Now they will.

On Monday, Gov. Jeb Bush signed into law a bill that makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to lure or entice a child into a vehicle or a building. The crime carries as much as a year in jail, Hogue said.

Bush credited Tampa police with proposing the bill, saying he was surprised that such a law did not exist already.

“I’ve been shocked in looking at these TV exposes of how prevalent the preying on children is by sexual predators,” Bush said.

“It’s such a foreign idea to me that someone would have as their organizing principle a way to abuse innocent people, but apparently that happens a lot. And when it does, there should be laws in place, to be able to allow prosecutors to be able to punish these folks.”

Sonia, who will be a sixth-grader in the fall, and her mother, Barbara Guzman, stood in front of a line of cameras Monday at police headquarters. Both said they were pleased with the law and hoped that other children could benefit from Sonia’s terrifying experience.

“I’m glad this is a new law now,” Guzman said.

Her daughter said she felt proud but nervous about all of the attention.

Last year, Sonia was riding her bicycle when a man in a truck pulled up alongside her and offered her $20 to climb in. Sonia didn’t say anything to him. Instead, she rode home and told her mother, who called the police.

Officers searched for the suspect and found him, Hogue said. But when they checked the law, they learned that the man did nothing illegal.

Before Monday’s new law, it was illegal to lure or entice a child only if the person had a prior sexual offense against a child, Hogue said.

That discovery aggravated police and Sonia’s mother, who said she didn’t immediately find out that the man hadn’t been arrested.

“I said, 'What do you mean he’s not in jail? He tried to kidnap my baby,’ ” she said, recalling her conversation with police last year.

So Majs. Sophia Teague and George McNamara joined with state Sen. Les Miller, D-Tampa, and state Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Tampa, to draft legislation to close what they saw as a legal loophole.

Guzman said the new law still isn’t enough to calm her fears about what could have happened to her daughter. She no longer lets Sonia ride her bike alone.

But she hopes that the law will help other children and parents feel safer. Most of all, she hopes that parents will be alert and believe their children when kids describe scary encounters.

Mayor Pam Iorio congratulated Sonia and her mother for being brave enough to help.

“You made a difference,” she said.
Sonia smiled.

Times staff writer Steve Bousquet contributed to this report. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at vansickle@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3373.

[Last modified June 26, 2006, 21:41:13]