Fl. High Court Affirms Local Parental Kidnapping Conviction
TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) – The Florida Supreme Court has affirmed the kidnapping conviction and life sentence of a South Florida man jailed for beating and kidnapping his own son.
The ruling means parents can be convicted of kidnapping their own children.
The 6-1 ruling was in the case of Ricardo Davila who was arrested in 2000.
A jury found him guilty of locking his son, who was under 13, in a bathroom and storage room of the family's Sweetwater home for extended periods of time.
Davila also was sentenced to 30- and five-years terms on multiple counts of aggravated child abuse and neglect.
He was accused of tying up the child and beating him with a broomstick as punishment for lying and other misbehavior.
Prosecutors said his parents would strip him naked, whip him with an extension cord and lock him in the bathroom for hours on end. His older sister and younger brother would sometimes sneak food to him, police said.
Davila's wife, Josepha, also was convicted on multiple counts of aggravated child abuse and false imprisonment of a minor.
She received a series of 20-year sentences and has a 2084 release date.
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