From ABC's The Blotter:
Disgraced former Congressman Mark Foley, whose e-mails and instant messages to teenage former congressional pages shocked the country, may avoid criminal prosecution in Florida because of the state's three-year statute of limitations.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement did not start a criminal investigation of Foley until November 2006, making it nearly impossible to prosecute what some officials regarded as the best case, an explicit instant message sent by Foley to a 17-year-old high school student in February 2003, when Foley was in Pensacola, Fla.
"Barring any extraordinary circumstances, it is very unlikely for charges to be filed in a case once the statute of limitations has run its course," said Aya Gruber, a former federal public defender and professor of law at Florida International University.
Federal officials turned the case over to Florida after concluding that Foley did not engage in any actual sexual contact until the former pages had turned 18, and had therefore not violated federal law. Washington, D.C. law defines the age of consent as 16.
Under Florida law, it is a third-degree felony both to use the Internet "to seduce, solicit, lure or entice" a minor "to commit any illegal act...relating to lewdness and indecent exposure" and to transmit any "information or data that is harmful to minors...via electronic mail," which includes instant messages.
The statute of limitations hasn't been the only hurdle in the Florida investigation. Last month, lawyers for the
U.S. House of Representatives denied Florida law enforcement officials access to the former congressman's computers, as previously reported on the Blotter on ABCNews.com. Investigators believe Foley may have used the machines to send illegal sexually explicit message to former congressional pages.
A Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokeswoman told ABC News at the time that House lawyers denied their request to turn over the computers, citing the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution, which protects congressional papers. The House claims Foley's computers are the equivalent of congressional papers, and that only Foley can waive his congressional privilege and grant access to them.
At the time, the spokeswoman, Kristen Perezluha, had said the department was working with Foley's lawyers to obtain access to the computers. This week she would neither confirm nor deny they had been granted access.
Perezluha did tell ABC News the investigation was almost done. "They (investigators) hope to have it wrapped up soon," she said.
Regardless of the statute of limitations, Foley has been tried, convicted, and executed by the public. He will be forever labeled a pervert, low life, and pediphiler. And this is not rule out the ethic committee in Congress to punish him and the lawmakers who covered up for Foley.
Disgraced former Congressman Mark Foley, whose e-mails and instant messages to teenage former congressional pages shocked the country, may avoid criminal prosecution in Florida because of the state's three-year statute of limitations.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement did not start a criminal investigation of Foley until November 2006, making it nearly impossible to prosecute what some officials regarded as the best case, an explicit instant message sent by Foley to a 17-year-old high school student in February 2003, when Foley was in Pensacola, Fla.
"Barring any extraordinary circumstances, it is very unlikely for charges to be filed in a case once the statute of limitations has run its course," said Aya Gruber, a former federal public defender and professor of law at Florida International University.
Federal officials turned the case over to Florida after concluding that Foley did not engage in any actual sexual contact until the former pages had turned 18, and had therefore not violated federal law. Washington, D.C. law defines the age of consent as 16.
Under Florida law, it is a third-degree felony both to use the Internet "to seduce, solicit, lure or entice" a minor "to commit any illegal act...relating to lewdness and indecent exposure" and to transmit any "information or data that is harmful to minors...via electronic mail," which includes instant messages.
The statute of limitations hasn't been the only hurdle in the Florida investigation. Last month, lawyers for the
U.S. House of Representatives denied Florida law enforcement officials access to the former congressman's computers, as previously reported on the Blotter on ABCNews.com. Investigators believe Foley may have used the machines to send illegal sexually explicit message to former congressional pages.
A Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokeswoman told ABC News at the time that House lawyers denied their request to turn over the computers, citing the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution, which protects congressional papers. The House claims Foley's computers are the equivalent of congressional papers, and that only Foley can waive his congressional privilege and grant access to them.
At the time, the spokeswoman, Kristen Perezluha, had said the department was working with Foley's lawyers to obtain access to the computers. This week she would neither confirm nor deny they had been granted access.
Perezluha did tell ABC News the investigation was almost done. "They (investigators) hope to have it wrapped up soon," she said.
Regardless of the statute of limitations, Foley has been tried, convicted, and executed by the public. He will be forever labeled a pervert, low life, and pediphiler. And this is not rule out the ethic committee in Congress to punish him and the lawmakers who covered up for Foley.
1 comment:
Osama is doing just fine and well protected by the Bush/Cheney team as agreed with the Bin Laden family before 9/11. Let an American say something about Bush and he/she can be found in two minutes yet we are to believe we can't find Osama what a joke.
Foley is to protected by the GOP and the White House. Now children can be molested and nothing is done to the attacker if he/she is a member of the Christian Republican Family Values team. Yes SPB Fingers Foley is the Poster man of Child Molestation but is anyone even parents thinking about protecting the kids who were attacked by this pervert. That's the sick part of this story these kids have parents that say nothing as their kids are molested. Yes a government and State that looks for loops holes to keep from bringing Fingers Foley to justice. This looks for like a paid planned deal with Fingers Foley to let this case drag on until it couldn't be tried. Now these kids will grow up to be perverts themselves as they should have gotten help as kids. Fingers Foley like all perverts will continue to molest kids with the blessings of the GOP and the FBI and Justice Department. The real story is Gonzo was all talk about how he would fight to protect the kids yet he allowed Fingers Foley to continue at will his actions and Texas guards are still raping kids.
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