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Letter to the editor

Semper Pi owner's sex conviction riles

BRANDON A nearby restaurant owner wants him and his pizza place to go away.

By Jan Wesner
Published October 19, 2007

Carranza has spent four years building his business. A recent Times article described him as a retired Marine sergeant major, an industrious businessman and a staunch supporter of U.S. troops.

But there was more to the story. Carranza, whose legal name is Juan Francisco Carranza, is also a registered sex offender. In 1997, while he was the ROTC instructor at Chamberlain High School, Carranza had sexual contact three times with a 14-year-old girl, records show.

He was convicted in 1998 and served 50 months in the Florida State Prison at Raiford for sexual battery on a victim under age 16.

Now, nine years later, a small group of veterans wants Carranza kicked out of the Brandon Veterans of Foreign Wars post and banned from military functions.

Carranza and his supporters say he completed his sentence and should be allowed to live in peace.

Rob Fernandez, who owns La Septima restaurant in the same Parsons Avenue strip center as Semper Pi, doesn't want Carranza as his business neighbor. He has Carranza's mug shot on the wall and has asked the Marine Corps to prohibit Carranza from ever wearing his uniform again.

"The part that concerns me is, is he capable of doing it again?" Fernandez said.

He also worries his business could be affected by having a sex offender work nearby.

Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Amy Malugani said there is no law that prevents Carranza from wearing the uniform because he committed his crime after he left the military.

Sitting in the back office at Semper Pi on a recent afternoon, Carranza said he realizes that what he did 10 years ago was wrong.

"All I want from people is to accept me as the person I am now," he said.

"I paid my price and I'll pay it for the rest of my life. I'm just trying to get back in the community, be a regular citizen."

Carranza has met all the terms of his release and probation, according to state Department of Corrections records. He completed court-ordered psychological treatment after he was released from prison in December 2002. He registered his address when he moved.

He and his wife, Carmen, were divorced when the incident happened. They remarried the day he got out of prison but Carranza of Brandon wasn't allowed to live with her and their daughter again until 2004. He is still not allowed to be alone with his 14-year-old daughter.

Cyd Deathe, founder of a local support group for parents of Marines, said her group meets at Semper Pi once a month.

"When his criminal record was brought to our attention, we met and decided that he had been fine with us," Deathe said. "We believe that God forgives and we forgive and we give people second chances."

Jan Wesner can be reached at (813) 661-2439 or jwesner@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 18, 2007, 07:21:05]