Tallahassee, FL - A Florida House Representative and Senator are joining forces to submit new legislation that would affect child predators seeking bail.
Earlier this week, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood posted a message from Florida House Representative Tom Leek (R). In that message, Leek explained that he and Senator Tom Wright (R) are looking to craft new legislation dealing with child predators and the availability of bail.
This legislation would make a child sex crime conviction one that exempts a convicted party from bail while appeals are pending. Leek said that he and Wright will craft the language for the bill and push it through during the 2020 Legislative Session.
According to Leek, he was inspired by the recent events involving the recently convicted Mark Fugler, who was found guilty of multiple counts of child sex crimes.
After being found guilty, Fugler was able to secure bail, which enraged local residents and some top law enforcement officials, including Sheriff Chitwood.
Following his release, Sheriff Chitwood sent letters to Chief Judge Raul Zambrano and State Attorney R.J. Larizza looking to overturn the decision to release Fugler, while the State Attorney's Office filed a motion for judges to reconsider letting Fugler out on bond.
Chief Judge Zambrano responded to Sheriff Chitwood, saying that even though he is the Chief Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, he cannot overturn a decision made by another judge.
On Tuesday's edition of the Marc Bernier Show (September 24th), Senator Wright, who is sponsoring the bill in the Senate, said he's appalled that something like this happened and that his release was allowed to happen.
"Sometimes I'm concerned that we take some of the really white-collar crimes and lock them up for two to three weeks while we decide if we're going to charge them or not," said Wright. "Then we take someone like this and say 'well we'll just put you out there and trust you to not do it while we determine your fate.'"
He further commented on the bill and his first year in the Florida Senate, saying he's surprised that a lot of bills like this one are only now coming up.
"I oftentimes have been saying to people lately that I'm so surprised of the bills that have come up, and I'm thinking we're only just thinking about this in 2019?"
Marc Bernier can be heard live on WNDB, Monday through Friday, 3-6 p.m. on FM 93.5 and AM 1150. You can also find archived interviews and shows on his website, MarcBernierShow.com
