Summary
In Berry, the district court held that Berry's use of familial trust to effectuate the rape of his emancipated teenaged daughter justified a departure sentence.
Summary of this case from Berry v. StateOpinion
No. 89-706.
April 17, 1990. Rehearing Denied June 16, 1990.
Appeal from the Circuit Court, Dade County, Stanley Goldstein, J.
John Lipinski, Miami, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Mark S. Dunn, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Before BASKIN, FERGUSON and GERSTEN, JJ.
Where a defendant was in a position of familial authority and by virtue of that authority a special trust existed which he breached, a valid reason for a guideline departure sentence existed. Gopaul v. State, 536 So.2d 296 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988). In our view the same rule applies notwithstanding that the rape victim is the defendant's emancipated teen-aged daughter. It was the familial relationship which brought the girl, along with her infant child, back to her father's home for a visit where she was forced to submit to her father's advances under the threat of violence.
Affirmed.