If a detective has asked you to come in and “clear things up,” or you already gave a statement that does not match what happened, the next few days decide how much that interview will cost you. I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm. I taught criminal procedure and courtroom testimony as a police academy instructor, then tried homicide, sex crime, and child abuse cases in the Major Crimes Unit, and I have taken more than 150 jury trials to verdict. Our attorneys use that training to take interrogation recordings apart minute by minute and to build the suppression motions and trial cross-examination that follow.

What is a false confession, and how common are false confessions?

A false confession is an admission to a crime the person did not commit, usually produced by the pressure and suggestion of a police interrogation. In 2025, 19 of the 97 exonerations recorded by the National Registry of Exonerations, or 20%, included a false confession, according to the Registry’s 2025 Annual Report of the National Registry of Exonerations, published in April 2026. The Registry counts 3,767 exonerations in the United States from 1989 through the end of 2025.

DNA cases show an even higher rate. A 2025 scientific review by seven researchers, Kassin et al., “Police-Induced Confessions, 2.0: Risk Factors and Recommendations,” Law and Human Behavior (2025), reports that false confessions contributed to nearly 30% of DNA exonerations in the United States. That review updates a 2010 white paper on the same subject, also published in Law and Human Behavior, and collects the research on why innocent people confess.

Sex crime cases are where a false confession does the most damage. Many sex abuse cases come down to one person’s word against another’s, with little physical evidence, so the defendant’s own statement often becomes the center of the State’s case. That is why our Tampa sex crimes lawyer team treats the interrogation recording as the most important piece of evidence in the file.

Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm use these benchmarks when we time-stamp a client’s interrogation. A session that runs many times longer than the norm is one of the first facts we put in front of the judge.

What interrogation tactics are legal in Florida, and which ones cross the line?

Florida police may lie to a suspect about the evidence, but they may not show the suspect fabricated documents, combine threats of harsher punishment with promises of leniency, or keep questioning after a clear request for a lawyer. Each of those limits comes from a specific court decision, and each one gives the defense a concrete argument in a motion to suppress.

The baseline rule comes from Frazier v. Cupp, 394 U.S. 731 (1969). Police falsely told Frazier that his companion had already confessed. The U.S. Supreme Court held that the lie was relevant to whether the confession was voluntary but was not enough, by itself, to throw the confession out.

Florida drew a firm line in State v. Cayward, 552 So. 2d 971 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989). Detectives suspected a 19-year-old of sexually assaulting and smothering his five-year-old niece but did not think they had enough evidence to charge him. With the knowledge of the State Attorney’s Office, they fabricated two scientific reports on official-looking letterhead showing that semen on the child’s underwear came from him, and they showed the reports to him to get a confession. The Second District Court of Appeal, the appellate court for Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties, affirmed suppression of the confession and held that manufacturing false documents violates due process. The lesson from State v. Cayward, 552 So. 2d 971 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989) is practical: a spoken bluff is usually allowed, and a fake lab report is not.

Threats paired with promises can also make a confession involuntary. In Brewer v. State, 386 So. 2d 232 (Fla. 1980), detectives told the suspect he faced the electric chair or life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder and said they would help him toward a second-degree outcome if he confessed. The Florida Supreme Court held the confession coerced and ordered a new trial.

The tactic our firm sees most in Tampa-area sex investigations is minimization. In statutory cases, a detective will offer a version of “I know you didn’t rape her,” which gives the suspect an escape from the worst accusation. The suspect then admits consensual contact, which is still a felony under section 800.04 of the Florida Statutes when the other person is under 16, because that statute makes consent no defense. The 2025 Kassin review reports that minimization raises the risk of a false confession compared with direct questioning.

What happened in the 16-hour Clearwater interrogation in State v. Sawyer?

A trial judge suppressed a murder confession after Clearwater Police Department detectives questioned Tom Sawyer for about 16 hours, and the Second District affirmed in State v. Sawyer, 561 So. 2d 278 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). The interrogation ran from about 4:10 p.m. on a Thursday to 9:30 a.m. the next morning. Police did not give Miranda warnings until about four hours in, then ignored two requests for a lawyer and kept going after Sawyer said he no longer wanted to talk and needed to sleep.

Police also charged Sawyer with sexual battery. The State later dropped that charge because the sexual battery details, which detectives had supplied and suggested to him during questioning, turned out to be false. The trial judge heard six weeks of testimony from 47 witnesses, listened to roughly 16 hours of tape, and found the statements were the product of psychological coercion.

The evergreen lesson from State v. Sawyer, 561 So. 2d 278 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990) is that the recording won the motion, because it let the judge hear exactly who introduced each fact. Our attorneys handle cases in Pinellas County and across Tampa Bay, and we build every confession challenge the same way: by tracing each detail in the statement back to the person who said it first.

How do controlled phone calls work in Florida sex crime investigations?

A controlled call is a recorded phone call that the accuser or a family member places to the suspect at a detective’s direction, hoping the suspect will admit something. Section 934.03(2)(c), Florida Statutes, makes the recording lawful when a person acting under police direction is a party to the call or one party consents, and the purpose is to obtain evidence of a crime.

Miranda warnings usually do not apply to a controlled call. In Illinois v. Perkins, 496 U.S. 292 (1990), an undercover officer posing as a fellow inmate questioned a jailed suspect, and the U.S. Supreme Court held no warnings were required because a suspect who does not know he is talking to police feels none of the custodial pressure Miranda addresses. The same reasoning applies when the suspect thinks he is talking only to the accuser.

Recordings made without police direction follow different rules. In McDade v. State, 154 So. 3d 292 (Fla. 2014), a 16-year-old in Lee County secretly recorded her stepfather in his bedroom with an MP3 player hidden in her shirt. The Florida Supreme Court held the recordings inadmissible under section 934.06 of the Florida Statutes and ordered a new trial. Florida law now includes an exception in section 934.03(2)(k) that lets a child under 18 record a conversation when the child has reasonable grounds to believe it will capture a statement about an unlawful sexual act or violence against the child.

Controlled call admissions are often weaker than they sound. The suspect is usually talking to someone he loves or wants to calm down, and a line like “I’m sorry you feel that way” can be played to a jury as a confession. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm request the full recording, every attempt to reach the suspect, and any notes on what the caller was told to say. Because a controlled call usually happens before an arrest, it is often the first sign that someone is under investigation, and that is the point where representation before charges are filed can do the most good.

Why is a confession more dangerous in a Florida sex abuse case?

A confession is more dangerous in a Florida sex abuse case because section 92.565 lets the State use it even when the State cannot independently prove that a crime happened. Florida courts ordinarily require some proof of the crime apart from the defendant’s own words, a rule called corpus delicti, which exists in part to guard against false confessions.

Section 92.565, Florida Statutes, creates an exception for sexual abuse charges, including sexual battery and lewd or lascivious offenses. A judge must hold a hearing outside the jury’s presence. The confession must be memorialized, the court must find the State is unable to show each element of the crime, and the State must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that corroborating evidence tends to show the statement is trustworthy. Hearsay is allowed at that hearing, and the judge must make specific findings on the record. Factors include whether the alleged victim was under 12 or physically or mentally incapacitated.

Our attorneys treat the section 92.565 hearing as a second suppression hearing. It is a separate chance to show the judge that the “corroboration” came from the detective’s own questions. Our post on Florida’s confession without corpus exception in sex crimes cases walks through that hearing in detail.

How do our attorneys challenge a false confession?

Our attorneys challenge a false confession with a six-step process that starts with the recording and ends, if necessary, in front of the jury.

1. Collect every recording and time-stamp it. We obtain the full audio and video, the officers’ reports, and any notes, and we log when questioning started, every break, and when warnings were given. Florida has no statute that requires police to record an entire interrogation, while about 30 states now require video recording for some or all crimes, according to the 2025 Kassin review. An unrecorded stretch of questioning is a gap the State has to explain.
2. Trace every fact to its source. We mark each detail in the confession and find who said it first. In one of our cases, a client faced serious sex crime charges after a marathon interrogation, and the review showed that every specific detail in his “confession” came from the detective’s leading questions. The statement held nothing that only the true perpetrator would know.
3. Test the Miranda warnings and the waiver. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), requires warnings before custodial interrogation. I taught Miranda requirements at the police academy, so I read a waiver form the way the officer was trained to present it, and I know where the shortcuts usually happen.
4. Bring in a forensic psychologist. An expert can test for suggestibility, intellectual limits, and mental illness, and can explain interrogation pressure to the judge. A jury hears that testimony only if the judge finds it meets Florida’s expert standard in section 90.702 of the Florida Statutes. Our post on why expert witnesses matter in major criminal cases explains how we choose them.
5. File the motion to suppress. We file and argue these motions in the Hillsborough County Courthouse and other Tampa Bay courts, and our guide to motions to suppress evidence in Tampa covers the procedure. For cases in Hillsborough County, a strong motion can also shift plea negotiations before the hearing is ever held.
6. Try the confession if it comes in. If the judge denies the motion, we put the interrogation itself in front of the jury, as the next section explains.

Are teenagers and people with mental illness more likely to falsely confess?

Yes. Teenagers and people with mental illness or intellectual limits are more vulnerable to false confession because they are more suggestible and more eager to end the questioning. The 2025 Kassin review cites a study in which 17% of youthful detainees said they had falsely confessed to police.

Florida courts give juvenile waivers extra scrutiny. In Ramirez v. State, 739 So. 2d 568 (Fla. 1999), detectives questioned a 17-year-old with little justice-system experience, gave Miranda warnings only after he had made significant admissions, and told him the warnings would not change his desire to cooperate. His parents had no chance to see him. The Florida Supreme Court held the waiver invalid, listing factors that include how the warnings were given, the suspect’s age and intelligence, whether parents were contacted, and where the questioning took place.

Our firm used those factors in a case involving a 14-year-old with bipolar disorder who was questioned near midnight by two detectives. A forensic psychologist concluded the confession was not knowingly and voluntarily given, and the felony sex charges were reduced to misdemeanor battery. The full story is in our case study, When a Confession Is Not a Confession.

Does a confession still matter if the judge denies the motion to suppress?

Yes, but the defense can still attack it in front of the jury. In Crane v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 683 (1986), a 16-year-old said he had been held in a windowless room, surrounded by as many as six officers, and refused permission to call his mother. The trial judge found the confession voluntary and then barred the jury from hearing about those conditions. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed, holding that a defendant may present evidence about the physical and psychological circumstances of a confession because its credibility is for the jury to decide.

Under Crane v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 683 (1986), losing the suppression motion moves the fight to a new stage. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm play the key portions of the recording for the jury, cross-examine the detective on every leading question, and show where the confession contradicts the physical evidence.

What should you do if a Tampa detective wants to talk about a sex crime allegation?

Tell the detective you will not answer questions without a lawyer, say it in plain words, and call a defense attorney before any interview or callback. Sawyer’s first request for a lawyer was unclear, and the case shows how much turns on the exact words a suspect uses.

1. Do not discuss the allegation by phone, text, or social media with the accuser or the accuser’s family. The call may be a controlled call.
2. Say it clearly: “I want a lawyer, and I do not want to answer questions.”
3. Do not agree to “just come in and give your side.”
4. Write down every contact: the date, the time, who called, and what was said.
5. Call a lawyer, who can contact the detective for you.

Our article on what to do after being arrested in Tampa covers the next steps if an arrest has already happened. The Brancato Law Firm can step in at either stage.

What results has our firm obtained in confession cases?

Our firm has defeated confessions in sex crime cases by showing how police obtained them.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. More outcomes are listed on our case results page.

Frequently asked questions about false confessions in Florida sex crime cases

Can police lie to you during an interrogation in Florida?

Yes, Florida police may lie about the evidence during questioning, and that lie alone usually does not make a confession inadmissible, though fabricated documents cross the line under State v. Cayward, 552 So. 2d 971 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989). The Brancato Law Firm reviews every recording for the moment a bluff turned into a fake report, a threat, or a promise of leniency.

Is it legal for police to record a controlled phone call in Florida?

Yes, section 934.03(2)(c) of the Florida Statutes, allows police, or a person acting at their direction, to record a call when one party consents and the purpose is to gather evidence of a crime. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm demand the full recording, every attempt to reach the suspect, and the detective’s notes on what the caller was told to say.

Can a confession be thrown out if police never read me my Miranda rights?

It can, if you were in custody and being questioned when you made the statement. The Brancato Law Firm files motions to suppress unwarned statements, and our guide to suppressing confessions and other evidence in Tampa explains the process. A suppressed statement can still be used to impeach you if you testify differently at trial.

Can sex crime charges be dropped if the only real evidence is a confession?

Yes, particularly when the confession is suppressed or the judge finds it untrustworthy at a section 92.565 hearing and the State has little else. The Brancato Law Firm has had sex crime charges dismissed after showing that a client’s confession was built from details a detective supplied, and our sex crime defense attorneys in Tampa look for that pattern in every file.

What should I do if a detective asks me to come in and give my side of the story?

Decline the interview politely and ask the detective to contact your lawyer. The Brancato Law Firm can speak with the detective for you and, where it helps, provide evidence and context to detectives and prosecutors before a charging decision through pre-file advocacy.

Can a forensic psychologist help prove my confession was coerced?

Yes, a forensic psychologist can evaluate your vulnerabilities and the interrogation methods used, and that opinion can support a motion to suppress, though whether the expert also testifies before a jury depends on the judge’s ruling under section 90.702. In a case The Brancato Law Firm handled, a psychologist’s evaluation of a 14-year-old’s interrogation helped reduce felony sex charges to misdemeanor battery, as our coerced confession case study describes.

Does Florida require police to record interrogations?

No Florida statute requires police to record an entire custodial interrogation, although about 30 states now require video recording for some or all crimes. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm treat any unrecorded stretch of questioning as a gap the State must explain at the suppression hearing.

Where do you start if you already gave a statement?

Before you return a detective’s call, answer another message from the person accusing you, or agree to “one more conversation,” call The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. at (813) 727-7159. The firm was founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, and our attorneys will start by finding out what police already have, including any controlled call, so you do not walk into another interview blind. Recordings and call records are easiest to request and preserve early, so call us at any hour.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Sex Crimes Defense page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm. I spent years in a Major Crimes Unit handling sex crimes, homicide, and child abuse cases, served as chief operating officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office overseeing a staff of over 100, and have tried more than 150 cases to a jury verdict. Today our attorneys represent people under investigation for sex offenses in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties, often before any charge is filed.

What Is the “I Am Jane Doe” Trend?

“I Am Jane Doe” is a social media movement that started in late September 2026, after a former Cornell University student filed a lawsuit as “Jane Doe” against the university, a fraternity, and seven men she says assaulted her in 2024. Supporters began posting “I am Jane Doe” to protect her identity and show solidarity, and many shared their own experiences of sexual assault (ABC News, “‘Jane Doe’ solidarity posts flood social media after Cornell rape lawsuit”). New York’s attorney general has since reopened the criminal investigation into the Cornell allegations (Philadelphia Inquirer, “Center City crowd rallies in solidarity with Jane Doe”).

Some posts go further than solidarity. They name the person the poster says assaulted them, attach a photo or a link to that person’s profile, and identify a city or an employer. Commenters then urge the poster to call the police or promise to spread the name.

Our firm respects people who come forward, and many of these posts describe real harm. This article is written for the person on the other side of the screen: someone who was named, who may believe the encounter was consensual or that the post is false or mistaken, and who now has to protect their freedom, career, and reputation.

Can a Social Media Post Lead to Criminal Charges in Florida?

Yes. A post is not a criminal charge, but it can lead to a police report, and a sworn statement from the accuser is enough for detectives to open a sexual battery investigation. Under section 794.022(1), Florida Statutes, “the testimony of the victim need not be corroborated” in a sexual battery prosecution. No DNA, medical exam, or eyewitness is legally required.

Delayed reports are common. In 2024, only 24% of rape or sexual assault victimizations were reported to police, down from 46% in 2023, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Criminal Victimization, 2024 report. Most incidents never reach law enforcement when they happen, which is why detectives in Tampa Bay regularly receive reports months or years later. A viral post is one way that happens: friends and strangers in the comments encourage the poster to report, and some do.

How Long Does Florida Have to Charge Sexual Battery?

Florida generally has 8 years from the date of the incident to file a first- or second-degree sexual battery charge when the accuser was 16 or older, under section 775.15(14)(b), Florida Statutes. If the incident was reported to law enforcement within 72 hours, there is no time limit at all. Many people assume a five- or six-year-old allegation is too old to prosecute. In Florida, it usually is not.

The defamation deadline in the last row comes from section 95.11(5)(h) and section 770.07. Our firm’s guide to Florida’s criminal statute of limitations covers deadlines for other offenses.

What Charge Could a Social Media Accusation Describe?

The words in the post matter, because Florida grades sexual battery by its circumstances. Sexual battery on an adult without consent is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison under section 794.011(5)(b) and section 775.082. A claim that the person was unconscious, asleep, or passed out points to sexual battery on a physically helpless person, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years.

Florida law defines “consent” as “intelligent, knowing, and voluntary consent,” and it says a failure to resist is not consent (§ 794.011(1)(a)). “Physically helpless” means “unconscious, asleep, or for any other reason physically unable to communicate unwillingness to an act” (§ 794.011(1)(f)). Drinking alone does not meet Florida’s definition of “mentally incapacitated,” which requires a substance given without the person’s consent (§ 794.011(1)(d)). Heavy drinking still becomes central evidence on consent and on whether someone was physically helpless. Our article on what sexual battery is in Florida explains the elements in more detail.

What Happens First If the Accuser Goes to the Police?

In our experience, the first step detectives take on a delayed sexual battery report is usually a recorded controlled call. A visit to your door typically comes later. Detectives with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Tampa Police Department, and Pasco Sheriff’s Office commonly have the accuser call or text the named person while they record. The accuser may say they have been “thinking about that night” or that “you really hurt me.” The goal is an apology, an admission, or an explanation that fills the gaps in the accuser’s account.

Florida is generally an all-party consent state for recording calls, but these recordings are lawful. Section 934.03(2)(c), Florida Statutes allows “a person acting under the direction of an investigative or law enforcement officer” to record a call with one party’s consent to obtain evidence of a crime. Our article on whether it is illegal to secretly record someone in Florida covers the rule and its exceptions.

Researchers have studied this tactic. In “On the Synergy Between Pretext Caller and Police Interrogator,” a chapter in Criminal Investigations of Sexual Offenses (Springer, 2021), psychologist Deborah Davis and interrogation scholar Richard Leo, with co-authors, describe pretext calls as a way police use alleged victims as “surrogate interrogators” to elicit confessions, and they examine how suspects respond to those calls and how observers judge admissions made on them. Our attorneys see the same pattern: people who would never explain themselves to a detective will often try to explain themselves to the accuser.

The investigating agency is the one where the incident happened, not where you live now. If the incident happened in St. Petersburg and you now live in Tampa, expect the St. Petersburg Police Department to handle it.

Will Police Try to Talk to You, and Should You Answer?

Expect police to contact you, and do not give a statement. Once a report is made, detectives will almost always try to reach the named person, by phone, with a business card left at the door, or in person at home or work with a request to “clear things up.” Florida prosecutors can file a delayed sexual battery case on the accuser’s word alone, but detectives want stronger evidence first, and the most convincing source of that evidence is you.

A statement can make the case against you much worse in three ways:

1. An admission. Even a partial one, such as “we had both been drinking” or “I thought she was fine with it,” can confirm the sexual contact and the circumstances the accuser described.
2. Contradictory statements. Denying any contact and later saying it was consensual, or misremembering details from years ago, will be presented to a jury as lying.
3. A trap. Detectives may claim they already have evidence they do not have. In Frazier v. Cupp, 394 U.S. 731 (1969), an officer falsely told a murder suspect that his companion had already confessed. The U.S. Supreme Court held that the lie, while relevant, did not by itself make the suspect’s confession inadmissible.

In our experience, sex crimes detectives have much more advanced interview and interrogation training than patrol officers, and they plan the conversation before it starts. A person who believes they did nothing wrong is often the easiest person to interview, because they want to explain. In these cases, the only good statement is no statement.

What Should You Say If the Accuser or a Detective Contacts You?

Keep it short, polite, and final:

• If the accuser calls: say “I’m going to contact my attorney,” then hang up. Do not deny, explain, apologize, or argue. A denial can hurt you as much as an admission if later facts contradict it.
• If the accuser texts or messages you: do not reply. Save the message and give it to your attorney.
• If a detective calls or comes by: say “I’d like to speak with my attorney before I answer any questions.” Take the detective’s card, and give it to your attorney.

Should You Send a Cease-and-Desist Letter or Sue for Defamation?

Whether to send a letter or file a lawsuit is a strategic decision for your criminal defense attorney, and in most cases the answer is “not yet.” A false accusation of a crime is defamation per se in Florida, and you have two years from first publication to sue, so waiting rarely costs you the claim. Acting too early can create the publicity and the police report you are trying to prevent.

1. A demand letter often gets posted. A screenshot captioned “his lawyer is threatening me” spreads farther than the original post and gives commenters a new reason to push for a report.
2. The accuser may have constitutional protection. Article I, section 16 of the Florida Constitution, known as Marsy’s Law, gives a crime victim the right “to be free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse” beginning “at the time of his or her victimization.” Florida’s witness tampering law, section 914.22, makes it a crime to threaten someone with intent to hinder a report to police, and no case needs to be pending. A properly drafted defamation demand is lawful, but prosecutors will scrutinize any contact from the accused’s side.
3. Suing means testifying. In Minor v. Minor, 240 So. 2d 301 (Fla. 1970), a wife who filed for divorce refused to answer deposition questions about her husband’s adultery claim by invoking the Fifth Amendment. The Florida Supreme Court approved an order requiring her to answer or have her case dismissed. A person who files a defamation suit over a sexual assault post can expect to be deposed under oath about the night in question, and that testimony exists while the 8-year criminal window is still open.

Do not send a letter yourself, and do not hire a civil lawyer to send one, until your criminal defense attorney has weighed the timing. The right call depends on the post, the facts, and your criminal exposure, and it should be made by counsel who can see all three. At our firm, that decision is part of the defense strategy from the first meeting.

What Did a 2026 Florida Appeals Court Say About False Abuse Accusations?

A Florida appeals court confirmed in January 2026 that falsely accusing someone of a crime is defamation per se, which allows punitive damages without proof of a specific financial loss. In Roque v. Swezy, No. 3D25-0235 (Fla. 3d DCA Jan. 21, 2026), Elizabeth Roque sued her former partner of ten years, Lewis Swezy, in Miami-Dade County, alleging assault and battery. Swezy counterclaimed for defamation, alleging she told employees at his company that he abused her physically and verbally. The Third District Court of Appeal allowed him to seek punitive damages and wrote: “Falsely implicating another in the commission of a crime, particularly one of moral turpitude, is actionable per se.”

The same lawsuit shows how these fights unfold. In an earlier ruling, Roque v. Swezy, 390 So. 3d 193 (Fla. 3d DCA 2024), the court quashed an order requiring a forensic copy of Roque’s entire cellphone, holding that the party seeking it must first show a real need, such as evidence that data was being destroyed, and that no less intrusive option exists. By 2026, the case had produced two appeals, and the abuse allegations remained in dispute.

The lesson for anyone named in a post: Florida’s defamation remedy is strong, and pursuing it turns the lawsuit into a contest over what happened, with discovery running in both directions. Our attorneys weigh that tradeoff before recommending a civil claim.

What Should You Do Right Now If You Were Named in a Post?

Protect the evidence and stay silent. These seven steps come from how our attorneys handle pre-file sex crime investigations:

1. Do not reply, comment, or post about it. Ask friends and family not to defend you online. Every public statement is a statement prosecutors can use.
2. Do not contact the person who posted, directly or through anyone else.
3. Preserve the post. Capture the post, the comments, the poster’s profile, the web address, and the date and time. Posts disappear, and our article on social media evidence in Tampa criminal cases explains why an authenticated capture matters.
4. Preserve your own records. Keep old messages, photos, and accounts. Deactivating an account is different from deleting it. Use the platform’s “download your information” tool to save your message history. Messages exchanged with the accuser after the incident are often the most important evidence in the case.
5. Do not delete anything once you know an investigation may be coming. Destroying records with intent to keep them from an investigation that is “pending or about to be instituted” is a third-degree felony under section 918.13.
6. Do not answer questions from police or the accuser. Use the short responses above, then call your attorney.
7. Retain a sex crimes attorney before any charge is filed.

Can an Accusation Cost You Your Job or Professional License?

An accusation alone can cost you a job, even if no charge is ever filed. Most Florida employment is at will, and an employer that learns of a public sexual assault accusation may look for a reason to let the employee go, because the accusation is bad for business and the employer may fear greater liability if it keeps the person on and another complaint follows. People in healthcare, education, and other client-facing work face this risk most.

A professional license is a separate question. An accusation by itself usually does not trigger a reporting duty to a licensing board, but a plea or conviction does. A Florida nurse, for example, must report in writing to the licensing board within 30 days after being convicted or found guilty of, or pleading no contest to, any crime in any jurisdiction, under section 456.072(1)(x). That rule covers nurses and other health care practitioners. Other boards have their own rules. Our attorneys review those rules with licensed clients and plan what, if anything, to say to an employer or a board before the client says it.

Why Hire a Sex Crimes Lawyer Before Charges Are Filed?

Pre-file representation lets your attorney influence the investigation before the State Attorney’s Office decides whether to file charges. Once detectives know you have counsel, the controlled call and the “come tell us your side” interview stop working as shortcuts. Our attorneys serve as the point of contact with the detective, gather and preserve evidence, interview witnesses, and present information to prosecutors when doing so helps the client. Visit our Tampa sex crimes lawyer page to see how we defend these cases, and our page on consent defenses in sexual offense cases for how consent is litigated.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. See more on our case results page.

How Quickly Can Police Act After a Post Goes Viral?

There is no fixed timeline. A report can come within days of a post or years later, anywhere inside Florida’s 8-year window. Police can arrest on a sworn statement alone if they find probable cause. In our experience with delayed reports in Hillsborough and Pasco Counties, detectives usually try a controlled call or a voluntary interview first, because a statement from the accused is the evidence they most often lack. The time to hire a lawyer is before that first call or knock on the door.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get an “I Am Jane Doe” post about me taken down?

Sometimes. You can report the post through the platform’s harassment or privacy reporting tools, but each platform applies its own policies, and removal is not guaranteed. A lawyer’s demand letter can also work, though it carries the risks described above. At The Brancato Law Firm, any takedown effort is a strategic decision made by counsel after weighing how it affects the criminal side of the case.

Will police arrest me without talking to me first?

They can. Florida does not require corroboration of the accuser’s testimony in a sexual battery case under section 794.022(1), so a sworn statement can supply probable cause. In our experience, detectives handling a delayed report usually attempt a controlled call or an interview before seeking an arrest.

What if we were both drinking and I believed the encounter was consensual?

Alcohol does not automatically make sex nonconsensual under Florida law, but it is often the central fact in the case. Prosecutors focus on whether the person could give “intelligent, knowing, and voluntary” consent and whether the person was physically helpless (§ 794.011(1)). Do not explain your side to the accuser, online, or to police; explain it to your attorney.

Does Florida’s 8-year limit apply if the incident happened in another state?

No. Section 775.15 governs offenses prosecuted in Florida. An incident in another state is controlled by that state’s time limits, which can be shorter or longer. Our attorneys can identify which state’s law applies and coordinate with local counsel if needed.

Should I delete my social media accounts?

No. Deleting posts, messages, or accounts after you learn of a possible investigation can be charged as evidence tampering under section 918.13 and can destroy messages that help you. You can tighten privacy settings or deactivate an account, but talk to your attorney first.

How do I hire The Brancato Law Firm before charges are filed?

Call The Brancato Law Firm at (813) 727-7159 to schedule a consultation. Our attorneys represent people under investigation for sex offenses in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties and can step in as your point of contact with detectives.

Talk to a Tampa Sex Crimes Defense Attorney Before Detectives Call

If your name appeared in an “I Am Jane Doe” post or any online accusation, the attorneys of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, can help you prepare before a detective or a recorded call reaches you. Call (813) 727-7159 now; the first contact in these investigations often comes without warning. For more about our defense strategies, visit our Sex Crimes page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm. As a former police academy legal instructor, I taught officers the rules that govern intercepted communications, and I served as Chief Operating Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office. Our attorneys see secret recordings surface in cases from domestic battery to fraud — sometimes as the charge itself, sometimes as evidence that never should have reached a jury.

What Is Florida’s Two-Party Consent Law?

Florida law makes it illegal to intentionally intercept — which includes secretly recording — any wire, oral, or electronic communication unless an exception applies. The rule lives in the Florida Security of Communications Act, and its core provision, Fla. Stat. § 934.03, prohibits intercepting a communication and separately prohibits disclosing or using what was illegally intercepted. The statute’s consent exception is what makes Florida an “all-party” (often called two-party) consent state: recording is lawful only “when all of the parties to the communication have given prior consent.”

The protection has a built-in limit that decides most real cases: the statute protects “oral communications,” which the law defines as words spoken with an expectation of privacy that the circumstances justify. A conversation in your living room qualifies. A speech to a crowd, a shouting match in a parking lot, or a statement to a stranger on a public sidewalk generally does not. So the legal question in almost every secret-recording dispute is the same one our attorneys litigate in search-and-seizure cases: did the speaker have a reasonable expectation of privacy where the words were spoken?

What Are the Penalties for Illegally Recording Someone in Florida?

Illegally intercepting a private communication is a felony — one of the few surprises in Florida law that catches ordinary people, spouses in divorces, and even well-meaning parents. The penalty structure under § 934.03(4):

The disclosure prong deserves emphasis, because it reaches people who never pressed “record.” Forwarding a recording you know was made illegally — say, a friend’s secret tape of her ex — can itself be charged. In our experience, most people charged under § 934.03 in the Tampa Bay area had no idea the statute existed; they thought that because they were being wronged, they were allowed to document it. Florida law says otherwise.

What Did the Court Decide in Judkins v. State?

In June 2026, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal threw out a domestic battery conviction because the State’s central evidence was a secret recording made inside a home — a vivid demonstration that the exclusion rule protects everyone, including defendants. In Judkins v. State, No. 1D2024-2610 (Fla. 1st DCA June 3, 2026), a teenager secretly recorded, from the next room, an altercation between Mark Judkins and the girlfriend with whom he lived. Neither of the people recorded knew it was happening. The trial court admitted the audio; the jury convicted.

The First District reversed. Because neither speaker consented, the recording violated § 934.03, and under Fla. Stat. § 934.06 — the Act’s exclusion rule — the audio and anything derived from it were inadmissible “in any legal or governmental proceeding.” The court rejected the State’s argument that the home’s thin walls destroyed the speakers’ expectation of privacy, and it found the error harmful enough to require a new trial without the recording. The evergreen lesson cuts both ways: a secret recording that seems to prove your case may be worthless in court — and if the State’s case against you rests on one, our attorneys can move to exclude it.

Can a Child Record Abuse in Florida?

Yes — Florida law now contains a specific exception, and the story of how it got there explains the law’s strictness. In McDade v. State, 154 So. 3d 292 (Fla. 2014), a stepdaughter secretly recorded her stepfather’s sexually abusive statements to prove what was happening to her — and the Florida Supreme Court held the recordings were inadmissible under chapter 934, because the Act contained no exception for victims. The decision was widely criticized, and the Legislature responded by adding what is now § 934.03(2)(k): a child under 18 may lawfully record a conversation the child is a party to, if the child reasonably believes the recording will capture a statement about an unlawful sexual act or an act of physical force or violence committed, being committed, or intended against the child.

That exception is deliberately narrow. It belongs to the child, it requires the child to be a participant in the conversation, and it is tied to sexual or violent acts against that child. It did not exist in McDade, and it did not apply in Judkins — where the teen who recorded was not a party to the conversation and the exception’s conditions were not at issue. Anyone tempted to generalize it into “recording is fine if you’re documenting wrongdoing” is walking into a felony.

When Is It Legal to Record Someone in Florida?

Recording is lawful in Florida when consent or a statutory exception covers it — and the list of exceptions is shorter than most people assume.

Two practical notes from Tampa Bay cases. First, the law-enforcement exception explains controlled calls: detectives frequently have an alleged victim place a recorded phone call to a suspect. That recording is lawful — and often the most damaging evidence in the case — because an officer directed it and one party consented. If you receive an unexpected call inviting you to talk about an accusation, assume it is being recorded and say nothing without a lawyer. Second, recording on-duty police officers performing their duties in public is a different question entirely — officers speaking in public generally have no reasonable expectation of privacy in those communications, though the safest practice is to record openly rather than surreptitiously.

Can an Illegal Recording Be Used Against You in Court?

No — § 934.06 excludes illegally intercepted communications, and evidence derived from them, from virtually every proceeding: criminal, civil, and administrative. This is broader than the constitutional exclusionary rule in two ways that matter. It applies to recordings made by private citizens, not just the government, and it applies in civil cases — which is why secret recordings so often blow up in divorce and custody litigation instead of helping. When a recording appears in discovery in one of our cases, the first questions are always the statute’s: Who recorded it? Who consented? Where were the speakers, and did the circumstances justify an expectation of privacy? Judkins shows a conviction being reversed on exactly that analysis.

There is a flip side defendants should understand: challenging the recording does not always end the case. The State may still proceed on witness testimony and other evidence, and Florida appellate courts reviewing the sufficiency of evidence consider everything admitted at trial, even evidence admitted in error. That is why the fight over a recording belongs at the trial level, by motion, before the jury ever hears it — the same early-suppression posture we take with stop-and-frisk evidence and medical records the State subpoenas.

Does Florida’s Recording Law Cover Text Messages and Emails?

Yes — chapter 934 reaches digital snooping two different ways, and the distinction decides what crime is charged. Intercepting an electronic communication in transit — capturing texts or emails as they are sent, with spyware, for example — falls under § 934.03 itself, the same all-party consent statute, with the same third-degree felony exposure. Reading communications that are already sitting in storage is a separate offense: Fla. Stat. § 934.21 makes it unlawful to intentionally access without authorization — or beyond your authorization — a facility providing electronic communication service and thereby obtain, alter, or block a stored communication.

This is the statute that reaches the everyday scenario: logging into a partner’s email or cloud account without permission to read saved messages. The base offense is a second-degree misdemeanor, but it climbs to a first-degree misdemeanor and then a third-degree felony when done for commercial advantage, malicious destruction, or private gain, or on repeat offenses. The statute has its own exceptions — including access authorized by the service provider or by a user “with respect to a communication of or intended for that user” — and those exception fights (was the account shared? whose name is on it? was consent implied?) are where these cases are won. We see § 934.21 allegations most often tangled inside divorce, stalking, and injunction cases in the Tampa Bay area, where one login can convert a family dispute into a criminal referral.

What Should You Do If You Are Charged — or Illegally Recorded?

If you are charged with illegal interception, treat it as the felony it is, and do not try to explain your good intentions to detectives — intent to document wrongdoing is not a defense, and your explanation is a confession to the elements. If the State’s case against you relies on someone’s secret recording, get it in front of a defense lawyer immediately: a successful motion under § 934.06 can remove the centerpiece of the prosecution, and the time to build that motion is before trial, not after. In Hillsborough County, interception charges and recording-evidence fights both move through the 13th Judicial Circuit, and the State Attorney’s Office makes its filing decisions within weeks of arrest — the window where our attorneys put suppression problems and statutory defenses in front of the prosecutor. If you were just arrested, our guide to what to do after being arrested in Tampa covers the first steps.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County criminal defense page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I secretly record my spouse in Florida?

No. A private conversation with your spouse is a protected oral communication, and recording it without consent is a third-degree felony under Fla. Stat. § 934.03 — marriage is not an exception. The recording would also be inadmissible in a divorce or criminal case, so it carries all risk and no benefit. Our attorneys regularly see these recordings backfire on the person who made them.

Is Florida a one-party or two-party consent state?

Florida is an all-party consent state: every participant in a private conversation must consent before it is recorded. Many states (and federal law) allow recording with one party’s consent, which is why out-of-state habits get people in trouble here. The rule comes from § 934.03(2)(d).

Can I record a phone call if the other person is in another state?

This is a trap. Even if the other person is in a one-party consent state, Florida’s all-party rule applies to your conduct in Florida, and courts have applied Florida law to interstate calls involving Florida participants. The safe rule: get everyone’s consent on the recording itself, or don’t record. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. can advise before you press record — which is far cheaper than defending a felony after.

Can I use a secret recording to prove I was threatened or abused?

Generally no — that was exactly the situation in McDade, where the Florida Supreme Court excluded a victim’s own recordings, and in Judkins, where a recording of an altercation was thrown out on appeal. The narrow exception is § 934.03(2)(k), which lets a child under 18 record sexual or violent acts committed or threatened against the child in a conversation the child participates in. Adults documenting abuse should call law enforcement, whose one-party-consent recordings are lawful.

Is my Ring camera or security system legal in Florida?

Video-only surveillance of your own property is generally outside chapter 934, which governs communications — but most modern cameras record audio, and audio of private conversations triggers the all-party consent rule. Disable audio or post clear notice where conversations may be captured. If a camera recording has become an issue in a criminal case, we can assess whether chapter 934 makes it excludable.

What happens if the police secretly recorded me?

Different rules apply. Under § 934.03(2)(c), officers — or someone acting at their direction, like a cooperating witness — may lawfully record a conversation if one party consents and the purpose is gathering evidence of a crime. That is why controlled calls are admissible. But the exception has limits, and warrant requirements govern other kinds of interception; if a recording by law enforcement appears in your case, The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. will scrutinize whether it actually fits the exception claimed.

Secret-recording law is one of the sharpest double-edged blades in Florida evidence — the same statute that can put a recorder in prison can take the State’s best exhibit away from a jury. If you have been charged under chapter 934, or a secret recording is being used against you anywhere in Tampa Bay, call the attorneys of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. — founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato — at (813) 727-7159 now, while the motion that decides the case can still be filed.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.