Dad dodges lengthy sentence for abuse
Prosecutors will recommend he get only 19.6 months in prison in bruising of his daughter.
By JOSE CARDENAS
Published July 11, 2007
CLEARWATER - A decade ago, Rolande Daniels was convicted of animal cruelty for cracking the head of his dog with a bat, knocking out its teeth.
The case sparked such an outrage that 57,000 people signed a petition asking a judge for a stiff sentence. He was given a year in jail, though he ended up serving less than that.
Daniels was in court again Tuesday, this time accused of inflicting bruises to the face of his infant daughter two years ago.
His trial in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court was to have started Tuesday morning, but instead, Daniels, 33, pleaded no contest to a child abuse charge.
He also pleaded no contest to charges of resisting arrest with violence and possession of marijuana, which stemmed from an unrelated incident last fall.
He will be sentenced July 31. He faced up to 11 years in prison for all three counts. Instead, prosecutors will recommend that he receive 19.6 months.
The child abuse charge stems from Feb. 14, 2005, when prosecutors allege Daniels hurt Emilee Daniels in a St. Petersburg motel room where he was staying with the girl's mother.
The girl's mother, Marissa Umberger, was at work, court records show.
Daniels called her in the afternoon and told her about the bruises, according to court records. Umberger then took the girl to get medical attention, which prompted an investigation.
In February 1996, Daniels nearly bludgeoned to death his 6-month-old pit bullterrier at his St. Petersburg home after the dog got into the garbage.
The story outraged animal lovers. A defense attorney tried in vain to get the trial moved out of the county.
Assistant State Attorney Joseph Werner said Daniels' animal cruelty conviction would not have played a role in the child abuse trial.
A person's past criminal history would play a role during sentencing, he said.
Defense attorney John Trevena said prosecutors initially sought five years on the child abuse case.
Though Daniels "steadfastly" denies that he hit his daughter, Trevena said his client took the plea bargain because going to trial would have been risky.
The prosecutor's expert doctor would have told jurors that the injuries to the girl could have been caused by Daniels, Trevena said.
The defense expert would have said the girl could have fallen off the bed.
"It was not worthwhile to risk 11 years in prison," Trevena said. "... given the lenient offer by the state, he wasn't going to turn that down."