STATE v. RIFE

Full title: STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellant, v. RONALD RIFE, Appellee

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District

Date published: May 28, 1999

No. 98-38 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. May. 28, 1999)

Opinion

No. 98-38.

Opinion filed May 28, 1999.

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Brevard County, Tonya Rainwater, Judge.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Ann M. Phillips, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellant.

James B. Gibson, Public Defender, and Kenneth Witts, Assistant Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

HARRIS, J.

EN BANC ON MOTION TO CERTIFY

We grant the state's Motion to Certify and certify the following question:

ALTHOUGH WILLINGNESS OR CONSENT OF THE MINOR IS NOT A DEFENSE TO SEXUAL BATTERY OF A MINOR, MAY IT BE CONSIDERED BY THE COURT AS A MITIGATING FACTOR IN SENTENCING? SHOULD THE MITIGATION ALSO APPLY WHERE THE DEFENDANT WAS CONVICTED OF BEING IN A POSITION OF CUSTODIAL OR FAMILIAL AUTHORITY WITH THE VICTIM?

GRIFFIN, C.J., DAUKSCH, COBB, SHARP, W, GOSHORN, PETERSON, THOMPSON, and ANTOON, JJ., concur.