FLORIDA
WFSU
[with audio]
By SASCHA CORDNER
At least one lawmaker has followed through on an abuse survivor’s vow to make sure legislation was filed to allow young victims to use private recordings in sex abuse cases. It follows a recent Florida Supreme Court ruling that will now allow a man convicted of abusing his stepdaughter to get a new trial, after she taped an incriminating conversation without his consent.
The Case
The case revolves around a girl, who at 16, privately recorded a conversation between herself and her stepfather Richard McDade.
According to the court documents—while he didn’t use sexually explicit language, he “appeared to be asking her to have sex with him.” And, if she didn’t, he’d be “physically sick.” He also indicated that he was doing her a favor by not telling her mother, otherwise the victim would be taken back to Mexico.
And, reading from the brief, sex abuse survivor Lauren Book says there are so many other things wrong with this case, including the fact that McDade was an ice cream truck driver who had ready access to kids.
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