Morgan Ciprès charged with felony

[FayD]

My question is whether he himself admitted that, rejected that or remained silent? Sorry, I did not follow this case closely.

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sport...r-accused-sexual-abuse-apologized/2773347001/

This article states that he sent a message to the girl's mother in 2017 to "apologize" which is pretty much an admission of guilt.

 

[Harriet]

According to USA today, Morgan Cipres has been charged with a felony in Florida "for the transmission of material harmful to a minor by electronic device."
A warrant has been issued for his arrest, but he is in France.

French figure skater charged in Florida following sexual abuse allegations

French Olympian Morgan Cipres allegedly sent two lewd photos to a 13-year-old American female figure skater, and has not been charged in Florida.

www.usatoday.com

I’m very glad to hear it, even though he of course won’t be extradited to face charges. Thanks for posting the link.

 

[pesto]

What would be the likely sentence for this sort of thing in Florida?

 

[el henry]

What would be the likely sentence for this sort of thing in Florida?

Transmission of material harmful to a minor is a felony in the third degree

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

www.leg.state.fl.us

A felony in the third degree is punishable by up to five years in prison

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

www.leg.state.fl.us

That said, without knowing thing one about the practice of criminal law in Florida, I would believe it unlikely that a court would impose the maximum sentence for a first time offender.

 

[Amei]

What would be the likely sentence for this sort of thing in Florida?

A quick Google search I found this attorney's website, if convicted: up to 5 years in prison, 5 years probation and up to a $5,000 fine. Additionally a conviction would mean that he would have to register in the US as a sex offender, if he goes on the registry that would end his career in show skating in the US because he would not be allowed near children.

Transmission of Material Harmful to Minors in Florida

In Florida, the crime of Transmission of Material Harmful to Minors is defined as electronically transmitting obscene and harmful material to a person believed to be a minor.

www.richardhornsby.com

 

[Amei]

Transmission of material harmful to a minor is a felony in the third degree

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

www.leg.state.fl.us

A felony in the third degree is punishable by up to five years in prison

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

www.leg.state.fl.us

That said, without knowing thing one about the practice of criminal law in Florida, I would believe it unlikely that a court would impose the maximum sentence for a first time offender.

I wonder if they charged him with a felony to leverage a plea for a lesser offense, but then again as it's been stated in this thread, he's in France and they won't extradite him so really he just has to decide whether he wants his lawyer to negotiate a plea or not answer to the charges and never travel to a country with an actively used extradition agreement with the US and gamble that France never changes their position that they won't extradite a French citizen to the United States for the rest of his life. I know someone else mentioned about statute of limitations, but I don't know if that goes into effect given that charges have been filed and a warrant issued, after all Roman Polanski is still considered a fugitive for his crimes that were committed in the 70's.

 

[pesto]

Thanks. 5 years sounds a lot. I'm assuming there is quite a lot of leeway in the "up to", depending on aggravating factors.

I don't suppose I've ever really thought about this, and was a bit bemused what to google without getting unwanted results...

It got me wondering about UK law, and I found a couple of UK cases in local newspapers. In both cases, the offender avoided prison.

Man sends naked pictures to 15-year-old girl and avoids jail

A father-of-four who sent a teenage girl a picture of his penis has narrowly avoided going to jail.

www.watfordobserver.co.uk

No jail for Worcester man who sent penis pic to girl, 14

A 24-YEAR-OLD Worcester man who sent a 14-year-old girl a photo of his genitals has been spared jail.

www.worcesternews.co.uk

I suppose I was wondering, if he thought he could avoid a prison sentence, whether facing the charges might be better. I imagine that in either case, any possibility of work in the US is off the cards, but to be able to close the chapter in some way.

 

[ribbit]

I wonder if they charged him with a felony to leverage a plea for a lesser offense, but then again as it's been stated in this thread, he's in France and they won't extradite him so really he just has to decide whether he wants his lawyer to negotiate a plea or not answer to the charges and never travel to a country with an actively used extradition agreement with the US and gamble that France never changes their position that they won't extradite a French citizen to the United States for the rest of his life. I know someone else mentioned about statue of limitations, but I don't know if that goes into effect given that charges have been filed and a warrant issued, after all Roman Polanski is still considered a fugitive for his crimes that were committed in the 70's.

The difference between Cipres and Polanski is that Polanski pled guilty and so *is* a convicted felon, while Cipres has only been charged. Polanski fled the US between his guilty plea and his sentencing, and so the sentencing hearing--the final step in settling a criminal case--never took place. The case is still technically open, and a new hearing could theoretically sentence him to further time in jail. My impression (though I'm not a lawyer) is that because his guilt has been established by a court, there is no statute of limitations on Polanski's case.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I know someone else mentioned about statute of limitations, but I don't know if that goes into effect given that charges have been filed and a warrant issued, after all Roman Polanski is still considered a fugitive for his crimes that were committed in the 70's.

A concept called tolling would apply, in which an accused can't "disappear" or make himself unavailable for hearings by staying out of jurisdiction. Tolling basically stops the clock on the statute of limitations, so merely remaining in France or other countries where he can't be extradited would offer no protection for allowing the charges to expire.

 

[Amei]

The difference between Cipres and Polanski is that Polanski pled guilty and so *is* a convicted felon, while Cipres has only been charged. Polanski fled the US between his guilty plea and his sentencing, and so the sentencing hearing--the final step in settling a criminal case--never took place. The case is still technically open, and a new hearing could theoretically sentence him to further time in jail. My impression (though I'm not a lawyer) is that because his guilt has been established by a court, there is no statute of limitations on Polanski's case.

I'm not a lawyer either I'm making comments based on Google searches and what I've heard on the news, so if someone is a lawyer can make a comment that would be fabulous. I do question when statute of limitations kick in, at this point Cipres has a felony warrant out for his arrest and if he stays in France and his lawyer does not negotiate a plea to make the charges/warrant go away then he should be considered a fugitive. If fugitives can escape their charges by hiding out in a country without an extradition agreement with the US till the statute of limitations run out and after that time go about their lives as normal, that would certainly take the teeth out of the justice system.

 

[alexocfp]

You can talk about this situation from a legal perspective all day long, but c’mon, 25 year olds shouldn’t be sending any nudes to 13 year olds.

25 year olds shouldn‘t be chasing 13 year olds to begin with.

And if the reporting is true and accurate, this isn’t a case of a hacker accessing the photos and sending them to other people.

 

[el henry]

I'm not a lawyer either I'm making comments based on Google searches and what I've heard on the news, so if someone is a lawyer can make a comment that would be fabulous. I do question when statute of limitations kick in, at this point Cipres has a felony warrant out for his arrest and if he stays in France and his lawyer does not negotiate a plea to make the charges/warrant go away then he should be considered a fugitive. If fugitives can escape their charges by hiding out in a country without an extradition agreement with the US till the statute of limitations run out and after that time go about their lives as normal, that would certainly take the teeth out of the justice system.

Just a slight amendment (and I do confess to being a legal practitioner, but *not* of criminal law and *not* in Florida)

France does not extradite its own citizens to other countries. I believe that is a longstanding legal principle and probably not subject to a "treaty" or renegotiation.

The danger Ciprès would face is if *France* decided to prosecute him for crimes committed in the US. My ten minute research online, which is worth exactly that, implies that France believes it can prosecute its own citizens for crimes committed anywhere. Thus the rationale that it need not extradite one of its own citizens to trial in another country's legal system.

I have no idea if remaining in France means that the statute of limitations is tolled for the Florida case. That would require more than ten minutes worth of research

 

[CoyoteChris]

Just a slight amendment (and I do confess to being a legal practitioner, but *not* of criminal law and *not* in Florida)

France does not extradite its own citizens to other countries. I believe that is a longstanding legal principle and probably not subject to a "treaty" or renegotiation.

The danger Ciprès would face is if *France* decided to prosecute him for crimes committed in the US. My ten minute research online, which is worth exactly that, implies that France believes it can prosecute its own citizens for crimes committed anywhere. Thus the rationale that it need not extradite one of its own citizens to trial in another country's legal system.

I have no idea if remaining in France means that the statute of limitations is tolled for the Florida case. That would require more than ten minutes worth of research

I am not a lawyer although I have testified in court for my employer, the Washington State Patrol and have worked for police depts for 30 years. If this guy were an American and were caught , and Florida wanted to pay for the extradition from say WA state, and this was his first offence of any kind and expecially sexting to a minor, his lawyer would get this plea bargined down and he would pay a fine, register as a sex offender, get probation, community service, yada yada yada. I have seen this time and again with felons caught with firearms....they are NOT gonna serve 5 years in the slammer, though they should.
What makes this interesting for the accused is that what happens if he goes to a country...say Switzerland,,,,which doesnt extradite either....but he shows his passport and the customs folks see he has a warrent for child crime? I dont know if they actually have that information or capability but with computers, they might. I can tell you right now if you have a conviction for Driving under the influence in the US and have paid your debt to society, you are NOT driving over the boarder into Canada. If the Canadians catch you, you might have a bad day. But I dont think the Canadians have access to a US citizen's past record. But they might upon request. But what if you have an open warrent for DWI in the US? My point is...this guy is gonna have this hanging over him and he better ask some serious questions of his lawyer before traveling anywhere outside of France.

The whole other side of this coin is safesport and John and Silvia.

And Look at Lloyd Eisler.
Effective October 6, 2006, Eisler was suspended from coaching in Canada for a one-year period by Skate Canada after allegedly sending sexually suggestive e-mails to his 15-year-old student.[3] At the time of the ban, Eisler was coaching in California, where the Canadian ban did not apply.[2] He did not appeal the ban.[2] No criminal charges were ever filed.

Eisler is director of skating operations at the L.A. Kings Valley Ice Center in Panorama City, Los Angeles.[4]
What should Safesport do with HIM?
Dont look at ME. I have no answers.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

The danger Ciprès would face is if *France* decided to prosecute him for crimes committed in the US. My ten minute research online, which is worth exactly that, implies that France believes it can prosecute its own citizens for crimes committed anywhere. Thus the rationale that it need not extradite one of its own citizens to trial in another country's legal system.

Given that the French skating federation has voiced support for him, I don't see France bringing charges. Honestly, I think this won't have as big an impact on his show skating as others on here think, as physically attractive men can get away with almost anything. Chris Brown has a career after nearly killing Rihanna and leaving her for dead after a domestic violence incident. Mel Gibson is still involved with movies after offending everyone through the years (aside from straight, white men). Even the Boston marathon bomber apparently got tons of fan mail while in maximum security prison.

 

[TontoK]

Well Roman Polanski is and has been "on the run" living it up in France for decades and he still gets hired and accolades galore, and he admitted to raping a girl all Cipres did and is charged with is sending a picture so I think what will stop him from being hired is if big name skaters refuse to skate in shows where he is present. The question is how known this information gets to skaters about his charge and whether they feel they can take that stand and it give the desired outcome of him not being hired or if the outcome is they don't get hired.

That's because the motion picture industry is a cesspool, populated with filthy degenerates. Roman Polanski is just one of the crew. If Cipres were a Hollywood actor, this story would have died out a long time ago. His actions would be so commonplace as to not merit more than a blip in the entertainment magazines.

Figure skating fans don't tolerate that garbage behavior, and we shouldn't.

 

[Amei]

Given that the French skating federation has voiced support for him, I don't see France bringing charges. Honestly, I think this won't have as big an impact on his show skating as others on here think, as physically attractive men can get away with almost anything. Chris Brown has a career after nearly killing Rihanna and leaving her for dead after a domestic violence incident. Mel Gibson is still involved with movies after offending everyone through the years (aside from straight, white men). Even the Boston marathon bomber apparently got tons of fan mail while in maximum security prison.

Attractive and non-famous ladies get away with a lot to, most news stories you hear about some female teacher being involved with an underage male student she gets little to no prison time.

Agree that this might have minimal to no impact unless other skaters group together and refuse to skate if he's in a show. Per my earlier comments on this he might have to be mindful of where he travels to avoid being picked up due to the charges but idk how much it would be pursued

 

[chasingneverland]

This is such a sad situation. I certainly hope this will get anyone trying to do the same thing to think twice. This has ruined his life and I'm sure this girl will be effected for life as well.

Omg. I quite frankly do not care about his "ruined" life. He DID THAT TO HIMSELF AND DESERVES WHAT HAPPENS. I'm only concerned about the girl.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Omg. I quite frankly do not care about his "ruined" life. He DID THAT TO HIMSELF AND DESERVES WHAT HAPPENS. I'm only concerned about the girl.

Me too. And maybe THIS girl wasnt tramatized too much, hopefully. But lots of girls (and boys) have this and much worse done to them. Kudos to the girl for stepping up and working with police. (Hey Dr. Larry Nassar....hope you had a bad day, like so many of your victims)

 

[zanadude]

I would have a hard time believing that this was the one, and only, time he'd ever conducted himself in such a manner.

 

[karne]

Guys who think it's acceptable to send dick pics like this rarely do it just one time.