A Florida man has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for having sex on the beach in front of kids and families.
Beachgoers saw Jose Caballero and girlfriend Elissa Alvarez getting it on in broad daylight at Bradenton Beach in July 2014. A witness testified against the couple, saying that their 3-year-old child saw the pair going at it.
“Think about 2:30 in the afternoon on a crowded beach. It takes a certain type of person to do that in front of children a few feet away," Anthony Dafonseca,
assistant state attorney, said, according to the New York Daily News.
However, Caballero, 40, and Alvarez, 21, claim they were not having sex. In court, Alvarez maintained that she was “dancing on top of him” and “nudging” her boyfriend to keep him awake. The couple was found guilty in May.
Alvarez has already served her prison time but the prosecution lobbied for more time for Caballero because of prior drug-trafficking charges. Both perpetrators also must register as sex offenders.
“Our office had discretion, and we felt that two and a half years was something that not only held him accountable but also reflected his past history, as well,”
Dafonseca explained, according to the Bradenton Herald.
Ronald Kurpiers, Caballero’s attorney, said he was in no position to argue for a lower sentence because his client could have been given a 15-year sentence.
"Do I believe, personally, that two and a half years is something that he should have to do? The answer is no," the lawyer said to the Bradenton Herald. "But I was caught between a rock and a hard place.”
Kurpiers said it was “horrifically unfair” that his client and his girlfriend have to register as sex offenders.
"I don't believe that his sex offender registration is applicable with what he's convicted of," he said.
Gregory Hagopian, Alvarez’s lawyer, says the case is “an embarrassment” for his client who served a 30-day sentence.
"I mean, it is shocking. To say that she's learned her lesson would be an
understatement,” he said, according to ABC WFTS Tampa Bay.
Caballero plans on appealing his sentence and Alvarez, who is still his girlfriend, already has. In the meantime, Caballero requested that he serve his prison time close to Manatee County where his sick father, who is in a wheelchair and recently suffered a stroke, resides.
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