20 years in prison for woman charged with child sex crime
Three people were sentenced by separate judges in different cases at the Marion County Judicial Center the week of March 18. Here's what we know:
State v. Kendra Marie Long
Lawyers: Kenneth Hamburg for Long and Assistant State Attorney Sasha Kidney for the prosecution.
Judge: Circuit Judge Anthony Tatti.
What type of hearing? Change of plea heard March 18.
What was her plea? No contest.
Charges: Attempted sexual battery on a child younger than 12 and drug possession, to include possession of fentanyl.
Sentence? In a negotiated plea deal, Long was sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by 10 years of probation. She has 747 days of credit for time already served at the county jail.
Special conditions: She must register as a sexual predator and cooperate with the state in future court proceedings involving her two co-defendants. Also, she can have no contact with the victim.
Did Long had anything to say before sentencing? Yes. She thanked law enforcement officials for rescuing her.
About the case: Long, 30, Zachary Wayne Turpin, 31, and Annabelle Riquelle Lagiglia, 28, all of Ocala, were arrested by Ocala police detectives and accused of sexually molesting a child younger than 12.
State v. Nestor Villardefrancos
Judge: Circuit Judge Robert Hodges.
Lawyers: Assistant State Attorney Drew Brandies and defense attorney Melanie Slaughter.
Charge: Attempted sexual battery upon a physically helpless person.
Why was Villardefrancos in court? For a bench trial. The judge heard arguments from the lawyers and then made a decision on March 18.
What was the outcome? The judge accepted a lower charge of battery and the 33-year-old Gainesville man was sentenced to one year in jail. He already has served that much time awaiting trial.
Records show he's charged with multiple sexual offenses involving children and is presently at the Alachua County Jail with bail set at $1.25 million. He has been at the Alachua jail since 2021. He was arrested for the Marion County case in 2019.
Lawyer presentations: Brandies told the court Villardefrancos tried having sex with the victim, who at the time was intoxicated. He said the victim did not want to have sex with Villardefrancos, and the defendant could not give an explanation on how his DNA was detected on her underwear.
Slaughter said there's no evidence that her client tried to have sex with the victim. Initially, the lawyer said, no incriminating physical evidence was found on the victim's underwear. Officials said they found the defendant's DNA only when conducting a second test. The lawyer said there's reasonable doubt that her client is innocent.
Did Villardefrancos take the stand? Yes. He said the victim invited him over, they played cards, and although she was intoxicated, he never touched her.
He told the prosecutor he doesn't know how his DNA could be detected on the woman's underwear. He doesn't remember what he used to clean himself after he had masturbated.
State v. Sherry Lynn Hayes-Luzader and Luke Thomas Massey
What type of hearing? Arraignment.
Judge: Circuit Judge Robert Hodges.
When was the hearing? March 19.
Lawyers: Drew Brandies for the State Attorney's Office and Sean Gravel for the Public Defender's Office.
What happened? In separate cases, prosecutors filed charges against Hayes-Luzader and Massey.
What are the charges? Hayes-Luzader is charged with exploitation of the elderly/$50,000 or more. Massey is charged with human trafficking for commercial sexual activity/any child under age 18 or mentally defective or incapacitated; use computer to seduce solicit lure child; and direct/promote sexual performance by child.
What's next? Both Hayes-Luzader and Massey have separate pre-trial hearings scheduled for June.
Are they still in jail? Hayes-Luzader, 53, of Dunnellon, was released after posting a $5,000 bond on Feb. 12. Massey, 29, of New Mexico, remains behind bars and is being held without bail.
About their cases: Massey is accused of talking to a juvenile via the internet and trying to convince the minor to have sex with him. He's also accused of asking the juvenile to persuade another underage child to have intercourse with him.
Luzader is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from an elderly woman.
State v. Donald Nelson Tackett
Lawyer: David Bradley Duclos, assistant public defender.
Judge: Circuit Judge Peter Brigham.
Charge: Travel to meet minor after use of computer to lure child. Two other charges — use computer to seduce/solicit/lure child and unlawful use of two-way communications device to facilitate — were dropped by prosecutors.
Tackett in court: On March 21 Tackett appeared for a pre-trial hearing. He pleaded no contest and was adjudicated guilty based on a plea deal between the lawyers.
Sentence: As part of the deal, Tackett must serve 21 months in prison and 48 months of probation. He has 57 days of credit for time served while at the county jail.
Any special conditions? Yes. The 63-year-old man cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school, daycare, park, playground or anywhere children gather. He also must register as a sexual offender and follow a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.
About the case: The Ocala man was arrested last year as part of Operation MAP Mirage. MAP is short for Minor Attracted Persons. In that sting operation, law enforcement officials pretended to be juveniles on the internet while adults solicited them for sex.
State v. Orestes Ferrer
Purpose of the hearing: Ferrer's lawyer asking for bail.
Lawyers: Ian Pickens and Assistant State Attorney Danielle Ruse.
Judge: Circuit Judge Robert Hodges.
When was the hearing and what arguments were presented? The hearing was held March 21. Pickens told the judge his client was arrested in January 2019 and bond was posted. Since then, he said, his client has been working with his uncle doing tile work in Hernando County and driving for Uber and Lyft.
He was arrested in Hillsborough County in January. Records show Ferrer was released a few days after his arrest and failed to appear for a court hearing. He faces drug charges. Ferrer told the court he's a U.S. resident, not a citizen, has traveled outside the country, and has family living in Hernando.
What did the judge do? He denied bail because Ferrer doesn't have any ties to Marion County, is not a U.S. citizen, has previously left the country, and already has not shown up for a scheduled court appearance.
About the case: Members of the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team arrested the now 37-year-old man after he was found inside a house that held marijuana plants weighing more than 200 pounds. Ferrer told officials he was house sitting.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Courts in Ocala, Florida: 20-year prison term for attempted child sex charge
