Ocala courthouse: Two trials, two convictions
Two trials for people accused of sex crimes were held last week, with both ending in guilty verdicts.
The defendants were Frank Louis Calabria and Emily Amber Fitzgerald.
Here's a recap:
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Cases resolved: Seven felony cases resolved
A strange twist
A six-member jury returned a guilty verdict against Calabria on charges of human trafficking for commercial sexual activity any child younger than 18 or mentally defective or incapacitated, three counts of sexual battery on person 12-18, and attempted sexual battery upon person 12 or older but younger than 18 incapacitated by an intoxicating substance.
The trial began Tuesday and concluded on Wednesday in Circuit Judge Robert Hodges' courtroom. In an unusual exchange, the 66-year-old defendant showed the court and jury his penis as part of his defense.
Calabria's lawyer, Jack Maro of Ocala, told a Star-Banner reporter that he asked the victim a series of questions: Did he know what an uncircumcised penis looks like? Did the defendant have an uncircumcised penis? How many times had the victim seen the penis? And did the defendant's penis or lower body have any distinguished markings or features?
According to the lawyer, the victim said he knew what an uncircumcised penis looks like, that Calabria had an uncircumcised penis, that he had seen the man's penis more than once, and that Calabria's lower body had no outstanding markings.
Before the trial, Maro had filed a motion for an evidentiary review. The judge granted it. When Calabria took the stand to testify in his own defense, Maro asked if he was willing to show the jury his penis. He agreed to do so. Maro said it was a circumcised penis.
Maro said he plans to file a motion for a new trial, noting that the physical evidence contradicted the testimonial evidence. Maro said Calabria faces mandatory life in prison.
Calabria has not yet been sentenced. Assistant State Attorneys Katrina Self and Barbara Harris prosecuted the case.
What led to the charges
Sheriff's Office officials said Calabria befriended a boy in 2020 and gave him food, clothes and a place to stay. The boy told law enforcement officials that Calabria gave him pills in exchange for sexual favors.
The boy said the abuse began when he was 13 and lasted until he was 17.
The victim said he never told any adults about the inappropriate behavior because he felt he had nowhere to go.
State v. Emily Amber Fitzgerald
The next day, Hodges was the judge in a one-day trial involving a woman, Emily Amber Fitzgerald, who was charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor. Fitzgerald worked at a youth detention facility and the victim, then age 16, was a resident there.
At the trial, which was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Jonathan Olson, the victim told the court Fitzgerald wanted to touch him, but he told her no. He said he was working in the kitchen. The victim said she would give him phone privileges if he allowed her to touch him.
The victim said Fitzgerald touched him, and eventually they had sex.
The victim was questioned by the woman's lawyer, Charles Vaughn. The victim said he did not manipulate, take advantage or force Fitzgerald into any of the sexual encounters.
Testifying in her own defense, Fitzgerald said the victim forced himself on her.
The six-member jury deliberated and decided Fitzgerald, 44, was guilty of the crime. Sentencing has been delayed until a pre-sentence investigation is completed.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Courts: Man, woman found guilty in separate sex crime trials
