Miami Injury Lawyer Blog

MIAMI, FL—October 27, 2011 - A former Miami Beach Police officer and his friend are being sued in connection with the alleged drugging and raping of an aspiring model, who uploaded modeling photos on a social networking website in hopes that she would be contacted by talent/modeling agencies. According to NBC Miami, the rape victim claims the ex-cop posed as a talent agent and persuaded her to come to South Florida for an audition via BlackPlanet.com, which is also being named as a defendant in the pending sexual assault lawsuit.

Reports indicated 40-year-old Lavont Flanders, a former MBPD officer, and his friend, 45-year-old Emerson Callum were charged with 22 counts of human trafficking on August 17. During an FBI raid, agents reportedly confiscated multiple boxes of porn DVDs, as well as other pieces of unspecified evidence in the case. Flanders and Callum’s criminal trial is set to begin in November.

According to federal prosecutors, Flanders, who was employed by the Miami Beach Police Department between 1995 and 1997, pretended to be a talent scout and modeling agent as a means of enticing women to come to South Florida to “audition” for a nonexistent agency since 2006.

Reports state Flanders would allegedly put drugs in the women’s drinks and then film Callum, the president of pornography company Miami Vibes, rape the women. Those porn films were subsequently sold for profit through online retailers, as well as at local adult film stores. It was not clear how many sexual assault victims there were in all.

The pending rape lawsuit against Flanders, Callum and social networking site BlackPlanet.com was filed on Oct. 24 and seeks unspecified damages.

Continue reading " Lawsuit: Ex-Miami Beach Cop Posed As Talent Scout, Drugged Aspiring Model Before Filming His Friend Rape Her " »

MIAMI, FL—Officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission appear to be investigating a recent boating accident in which a child suffered critical injuries upon being struck by the vessel’s propeller. According to information provided by Tampa Bay Online, the injurious propeller accident occurred in Tampa’s Lake Magdalene on Oct. 22.

Reports suggested family and friends gathered at Lake Magdalene to go tubing when at approximately 6 p.m., something went horribly wrong. FWC spokesman George Wells said a boat propeller struck an 11-year-old girl’s leg as she was in the process of climbing back aboard the vessel.

Although reports did not specify what kind of injuries the child sustained in the Florida boat accident, she was reportedly transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital in critical condition. It was not clear if the young victim, who remained unidentified, remains hospitalized. A full probe into the propeller injury was expected to be underway.

Statistical data provided by the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission indicated 668 boat accidents occurred during the year 2010. Those vessel accidents resulted in 79 boating deaths and 389 injuries. Statistics suggest Florida has more boating accidents than any other state in the nation.

Continue reading " Miami Boating Accident Lawyer News: Child Hospitalized in Critical Condition Following Tampa Propeller Accident " »

MIAMI, FL— October 26, 2011 - Following the Oct. 12 arrest of a Kissimmee nurse accused of sexually assaulting two patients at Osceola Regional Medical Center this year, local authorities announced that they have not yet ruled out the potential for additional victims in cities where the male nurse (and former Air Force Nurse Corps captain) worked in the past, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Shean Michael Galvin, the accused male nurse, received national recognition in 2003 when he directed the medical evacuation of a recovered U.S. prisoner of war. Upon being rescued by U.S. Special Operations Forces personnel, Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch was reportedly medevac’d from Iraq—where she was injured and subsequently held captive by Iraqi forces—to a German hospital for treatment.

Galvin was arrested on two counts of sexual battery in connection with the alleged sexual assault of two patients at Kissimmee-based Osceola Regional Medical Center this year. Furthermore, police reports suggested rape allegations brought by a patient at Clermont-based South Lake Hospital prompted an inquiry by the Florida Board of Nursing in Oct. 2007.

Employed by South Lake Hospital between 2005 and 2007, Galvin apparently told that particular patient he could administer the injections she normally received for migraine headaches at her home, as opposed to in the ER. A nursing inquiry revealed that on Oct. 3, 2007, Galvin signed out three vials of the drug Dilaudid. That was the same day the woman claimed Galvin came to her home under the premise that “he would give her the shots of medicines” in exchange for “sexual favors.”

The woman in that case told police that not only did she take a bath and wash the majority of her clothes following the alleged assault; humiliation deterred her from reporting the incident until 12 days later. Given that there had been "destruction of possible evidence by the victim" and Galvin maintained he only went to the woman’s house to show her how to properly administer her own injections, he was not arraigned in that case.

He did however have his nursing license suspended due to the fact that he had no authorization to sign out the said vials of Dilaudid. He was also placed on probation for that offence.

In the 2011 cases, one Osceola Regional patient claimed she was forced to perform an explicit sexual act on Galvin during her stay at the hospital. Another victim claimed the male nurse administered her injections and then went on to inappropriately touch her.

According to Capt. Warren Shepard of the Kissimmee Police Department, “We are working on a timeline and plan to release it as soon as possible. We're hoping to alert these communities there was a predator in their area who may have harmed people in his care… People are most vulnerable when they go to an emergency room and trust the people who are there are looking out for their best interests. This person obviously wasn't.”

Although Galvin posted bond and has since been released from jail, he was also suspended from Osceola Regional Medical Center, which is expected to conduct its own investigation into the sexual assault allegations. The Florida Department of Health will also be investigating the sexual battery case.

Reports noted that while Galvin was serving overseas as an Air Force Reserves captain in 2003, he was a nurse under the employment of Reno-based Washoe Medical Center. In the past, Galvin was employed as a nurse in Nevada as well.

Continue reading " Miami Injury Lawyer News: Kissimmee Nurse Charged With Sexual Battery of 2 Osceola Regional Medical Center Patients " »

MIAMI, FL— October 20, 2011 - A woman who was raped by an ex-Miami Police officer in March 2007 and went on to file a lawsuit against the city is expected to receive a settlement payment of $500,000, following the unanimous approval of city commissioners. According to information provided by the Miami Herald, the plaintiff, who was employed as a South Beach waitress at the time of her attack, sued on the grounds that the Miami Police Department hired Michael Ragusa “despite the obvious red flags concerning his qualifications to be a police officer.”

Upon filing an application with the MPD, not only did Michael Ragusa admit to stealing money from a restaurant that he employed him in the past, he confessed to soliciting prostitutes and paying strippers to have sex with him, according to the lawsuit. Ragusa, who was once a boxer and weightlifter, also allegedly confessed to having a short temper.

The lawsuit further claims that while six addition police departments and agencies denied him a job, the Miami Police Dept. “engaged in only the most cursory scrutiny of his background history” and went on to hire him in March 2004.

In March 2007, Ragusa went on a rape binge of sorts. In a matter of weeks, the ex-cop sexually assaulted three women, including the unidentified plaintiff who was en route to her home from a Miami Beach bus stop when she was raped. Although Ragusa’s last rape victim convinced him she had an STD so he wouldn’t rape her, the uniformed police officer went on to demand that she give him her phone number nonetheless.

The third victim seemingly contacted Miami Beach Police officials upon receiving a text message from her. He was apprehended on multiple rape charges in March 2007. The following year, he pleaded guilty to various felony charges of that nature was sentenced to 10 years in prison. When Ragusa is released from prison, he will be regarded as a “sexual predator” and spend an additional 10 years on probation.

Continue reading " Miami City Commission Approves $500,000 Settlement for Woman Raped by Former MPD Officer " »

MIAMI, FL— October 13, 2011 - Authorities from the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) on Oct. 11 arrested and charged a former youth counselor after a teenage boy reported being assaulted, both physically and sexually, by him. According to information provided by NBC Miami, 44-year-old Raphael Castillo, who is being currently being detained in lieu of $20,000 bail, faces four counts of sexual assault and battery.

In a sworn statement on Oct. 11, the unidentified 17-year-old victim gave a detailed account of the explicit sexual advances and encounters involving his court-ordered youth counselor Raphael Castillo. At the time of the alleged assaults, Castillo worked at a Plantation-based non-profit organization that helps troubled adolescents and young adults. According to the non-profit behavioral health agency’s website, The Starting Place “provides therapeutic prevention, intervention programs, and rehabilitative and educational counseling for adolescents and their families in Broward County.”

Castillo was accused of engaging in conversations of a sexually explicit nature with the minor, as well as touching him inappropriately and ultimately having sex with him on Sept. 21 and Oct. 10, respectively. Both of those incidents seemed to have occurred after the alleged sexual assault victim had already completed the court-ordered counseling program. Reports stated that in the Oct. 10 incident, which took place in Castillo’s car, the former counselor had sexual intercourse with the teen in a Hollywood alleyway.

Castillo admitted to having sex with the 17-year-old and is being currently being detained on $20,000 bail. As investigations into the South Florida sexual assault case are ongoing, The Starting Place CEO Joel Kaufman maintained, “Our uppermost concern is for the client and his family and doing whatever we can to make sure they are receiving the assistance they need as they move through this process… If any parts of the allegations prove to be true, the actions would have been those of a rogue employee acting outside the normal course and scope of his employment and in a criminal manner."

Continue reading " Broward County Teen Sexually Assaulted, Battered by Court-Appointed Youth Counselor; Charges Pending " »

MIAMI, FL—Two scuba divers found themselves treading open water approximately three miles off South Florida’s Key Biscayne, upon discovering that their charter boat abandoned them at sea on Oct. 2. According to information provided by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the two stranded men were rescued from the shark-ridden waters of the Atlantic a few hours later, when the occupants of a passing vessel noticed them.

Reports indicated a commercial dive boat was used to transport several scuba divers to a region of the Atlantic Ocean, about three miles off Key Biscayne on the afternoon of Sept. 2. Two men aboard the vessel, Paul Kline, of Texas, and Fernando Garcia Puerta, of Spain, swam to the surface after diving for some time, only to discover that the Big Com-Ocean charter boat had left them.

The two forgotten scuba divers were forced to tread water for over two hours before the crew of another boat pulled them from the ocean and transported them back to shore. According to victim Kline, “We were in shock… We could easily have died.”

Robert J. Arnove, owner of Miami-based RJ Diving Ventures Inc. (the charter boat’s operator) contended, “I do not know how the two divers got checked off without them being on the boat or who is to blame… We are still trying to figure that out while devising a further failsafe system to prevent this from ever happening again.”

While Arnove explained that divers are checked off on a roster as they climb back aboard the charter boat, Fort Lauderdale-based Underseas Sports owner Matt Stout told reporters, “I've been in this business for 23 years and I can remember just a couple of occasions of this happening… Normally, it's a result of somebody not doing roll call properly.''

Officials from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) are expected to conduct a full investigation into the incident.

Continue reading " Miami Personal Injury Attorney News: Two Scuba Divers Abandoned By Charter Boat Off Key Biscayne " »

MIAMI, FL— October 7, 2011 - A 16-year-old Tampa boy is facing sexual battery charges after a teenage girl reported having been raped by him in one of their high school’s bathrooms. Officials from the Tampa Police Department continue to investigate the alleged sexual attack, which occurred at Chamberlain High School on the morning of Oct. 3, as reported by WESH.

According to Laura McElroy, a Tampa PD spokeswoman, an unidentified 16-year-old girl told Chamberlain High School’s resource officer that a male student followed her down an empty hallway before shoving her into a bathroom and raping her on school property. The young victim claimed that the boy returned to class following the sexual assault, which occurred in close proximity to the school’s gym.

Although the teenage boy initially claimed he never touched the alleged rape victim, McElroy noted that the suspect’s story did not remain the same. Both of the suspect’s stories were said to be “inconsistent” with the victim’s version of what happened. The suspect’s assertions also appeared to contradict findings from the girl’s post-assault physical exam.

While the Tampa Police arrested the young rape suspect and charged him with sexual battery, investigations into the alleged high school rape case are ongoing.

Continue reading " Tampa Boy, 16, Arrested in Connection With Alleged High School Rape Case " »

MIAMI, FL—October 6, 2011 - A former Bethune-Cookman University (BC-U) woman’s basketball player filed a lawsuit against the private Daytona Beach university, claiming the student, a freshman at the time, was raped by several members of the men’s basketball team. Pending litigation accuses the school of having insufficient campus security and failing to avert “the distribution of alcohol to minors,” the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.

According to information provided, the 18-year-old plaintiff, who remained unidentified, reported being gang-raped in a vehicle owned by former Bethune-Cookman University basketball player C.J. Reed. The suit contends that on Dec. 5, 2010, Reed plied the underage woman with alcoholic beverages "in his white Mercedes-Benz while on the campus of Bethune-Cookman University.”

The plaintiff alleges that upon taking a couple sips of the drink, she “became incapacitated” and proceed to pass “in and out of consciousness in the back seat of his car." She further claimed that Reed went on to pick up three unidentified BC-U basketball players, who raped her that night. It was not clear if the plaintiff underwent a medical examination to determine whether she’d been given the date rape drug prior to the alleged sex attack.

Although the lawsuit claims Reed was involved in the sexual attack, he has not faced any criminal charges, nor is he currently under investigation for the alleged gang rape. According to Daytona Beach Police Department (DBPD) Chief Mike Chitwood, although the alleged rape victim reported the attack, the accuser’s lack of a desire to take part in the investigation spurred police to suspend the probe.

While Bethune-Cookman University spokeswoman Meredith Rodriguez told reporters that the private university is indeed aware of the lawsuit, she would not comment on the pending litigation.

Continue reading " Bethune-Cookman University Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Gang Rape on Campus " »