Related Research Articles
Polk County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. The county population was 725,046, as of the 2020 census, and estimated to be 818,330, as of July 1, 2023. Its county seat is Bartow, and its largest city is Lakeland.
Auburndale is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,616 at the 2020 census.
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along I-4 east of Tampa and west of Orlando, it is the most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal city of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lakeland is situated among several lakes including Lake Morton downtown and is sometimes locally referred to by the nickname "Swan City" due to its sizeable population of swans, all of whom are descendants of two mute swans given to Lakeland by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. Lakeland is home to several colleges and universities. Lakeland Linder International Airport is in Lakeland as is the corporate headquarters of Publix, a supermarket chain.
Debra Jean Williams, better known under her former married name of Debra Lafave, is a convicted sex offender who formerly taught at Angelo L. Greco Middle School in Temple Terrace, Florida. In 2005, she pleaded guilty to lewd or lascivious battery against a teenager. The charges stemmed from a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old student in mid-2004. Lafave's plea bargain included no prison time, opting for three years of house arrest due to safety concerns, seven years of probation, and lifetime registration as a sex offender.
The Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art at Florida Southern College, formerly known as the Polk Museum of Art, is a private, non-profit, and nationally accredited art museum in Lakeland, Florida. It is a member of the Florida Association of Museums, is ranked among the top art museums in the state of Florida, and is a Smithsonian Affiliate. Admission to the museum is free to the general public. On June 1, 2017, the Polk Museum of Art, a private community museum, entered an affiliation agreement with Florida Southern College in order to advance the mission of both entities and better serve the community.
Pamela Joan Rogers is an American sex offender and a former elementary school physical education teacher and coach who taught in McMinnville, Tennessee. She was convicted of four counts of sexual battery in 2005 and two counts of solicitation of sexual exploitation of a minor in 2006 stemming from a three-month relationship with a 13-year-old boy who was her student at Centertown Elementary School. Her case made headlines and was covered by major news networks for being a notorious teacher who had an unlawful sexual relationship with one of her students. After getting released in 2012, she was taken into custody in 2015 for allegedly conspiring to smuggle contraband cell phones into a state prison and sentenced to eight years in prison; her case brought headlines and national attention to the practice of cellphone smuggling in prison.
The United States Penitentiary, Coleman I and II are high-security United States federal prisons for male inmates in Florida. It is part of the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. USP Coleman I was opened in 2001, and in 2004 Clark Construction completed a 555,000-square-foot (51,600 m2) additional component for USP Coleman II.
The Miss Florida competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Florida in the Miss America pageant. Florida has twice won the Miss America crown.
Mulberry High School is a four-year public high school located in Mulberry, Florida, serving the city and surrounding areas.
Lakeland Senior High School, opened in 1902, is the oldest public high school in Lakeland, Florida, United States. The school was originally located on North Florida Avenue and was destroyed by fire in 1927. It is part of Polk County Public Schools. Lakeland Senior High School was the original high school in the city. It also shares its campus with Lois Cowles Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts. Harrison students attend academic classes at Lakeland Senior High School.
Carpenter's Home Church was a prominent Pentecostal megachurch in Lakeland, Florida, affiliated with the Assemblies of God USA. Opened in 1985, the church claimed nearly 7,000 worshipers at its peak. The church closed amidst financial scandal and dwindling attendance. The remaining members became two separate congregations, one of which became prominent as the host of the Lakeland Revival in 2008. The property was purchased by Without Walls International Church of Tampa, Florida, and the facility became the home of their affiliate Without Walls Central Church. Without Walls experienced financial difficulties requiring them to sell their properties. The building was eventually acquired by developers and demolition commenced in March 2015. Today, nothing remains of the building.
Ryan Keith Skipper was an American man from Polk County, Florida, who was murdered on March 14, 2007, in what authorities declared a hate crime. Skipper's body was discovered on March 15 along a roadside in Wahneta, Florida. Two men were arrested in connection with the crime: William David Brown Jr., and Joseph Bearden, 20 and 21 years old at the time of the incident, respectively. The men were charged with first-degree murder and robbery.
Florida Polytechnic University is a public university in Lakeland, Florida. Created as an independent university in 2012, it is the newest of the 12 institutions in the State University System of Florida. It is the state's only public polytechnic university, and focuses solely on STEM education.
Auburndale High School is a four-year public high school located in Auburndale, Florida, United States, and a part of Polk County Public Schools. The school serves about 1,800 students from ninth through twelfth grades. In 2012, construction was completed on a new media center, added parking, centrally-located cafeteria, and new academic buildings.
Lowell Correctional Institution is a women's prison in unincorporated Marion County, Florida, north of Ocala, in the unincorporated area of Lowell. A part of the Florida Department of Corrections, it serves as the primary prison for women in the state. Almost 3,000 women are incarcerated in the complex, which includes the Lowell Annex. As of 2015 2,696 women are in the main Lowell CI, making it the largest prison for women in the United States; its prison population became larger than that of the Central California Women's Facility that year.
Polk County Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Bartow, Florida, United States. The district serves Polk County.
Nicholas Lindsey is a Florida man convicted of murder in the first degree of a law enforcement officer from the St. Petersburg Police Department.
Marion Correctional Institution is a state prison for men in unincorporated Marion County, Florida, near Ocala. It is owned and operated by the Florida Department of Corrections. The facility houses a maximum of 1324 inmates at a mix of security levels. It stands near to Florida's Florida Women's Reception Center and Lowell Correctional Institution, both women's facilities.
Melony Mincey Bell is an American politician who is currently a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 56th District which covers the entirety of DeSoto and Hardee Counties, as well as part of Polk County. Bell has served as commissioner for the Polk County Board of County Commissioners, as the mayor of Fort Meade, Florida and as a Fort Meade city commissioner.
Grady Judd is an American law enforcement officer and serves as the sheriff of Polk County, Florida since 2005. Recently, controversy has emerged over allegations that Polk County detectives under his supervision dismissed reports of child sexual abuse, failing to take the victims’ claims seriously. Reports suggest that detectives, rather than investigating these claims thoroughly, accused some victims of lying, leading to charges against juveniles for false reporting while their alleged abusers remained free. Following additional evidence and further testimonies, some of these abusers have since been convicted, and sentences for lying have been overturned. As of the latest information, no disciplinary actions have been taken against the detectives or Sheriff Judd in connection with these cases, raising questions about oversight and accountability within the department.
References
- ↑ "Former Florida teacher sentenced to 22 years for having sex with high school students | New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV". Pix11.com. 2015-07-04. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
- ↑ "Florida Teacher Jennifer Fichter Pleads Guilty To 37 Counts In Student Sex Case". Huffingtonpost.com. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
- ↑ "State of Florida v. Jennifer C. Fichter" (PDF). Archive.wtsp.com. Retrieved 2015-07-09.[ dead link ]
- ↑ Glasser, Eric (2015-07-02). "Lakeland teacher gets 22 years for sex with 3 students". WTSP . Archived from the original on 2015-07-13. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ↑ "Orange County Schools – Jennifer Fichter" (PDF). S3.documentcloud.org. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
- ↑ Ledger, John Chambliss The. "Convicted teacher seeks lighter sentence". The Ledger.
- ↑ Fichter, Jennifer. "Polk County Inmates". www.polksherf.org. Polk County Sheriffs Office. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
- ↑ Glasser, Eric (2015-07-02). "Lakeland teacher gets 22 years for sex with 3 students". WTSP . Archived from the original on 2015-07-13. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ↑ "'Predator' teacher Jennifer Fichter gets 22 years for sex with students". CBS News. 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
- ↑ Bounds, Holly (2015-07-09). "Europeans supporting former Polk teacher jailed for sex with students". WFLA.com. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
- ↑ Walker, Tori (2015-07-15). "Teacher sentenced to long prison term for sex with teen garners following". The Daytona Beach News-Journal . GateHouse Media. Archived from the original on 2019-11-01. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ↑ "Inmate Population Information List". www.dc.state.fl.us.
| Human sexuality | |
|---|---|
| Child sexuality | |
| Sexual abuse | |
| Age of consent (reform) | |
 | This United States biographical article related to crime is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |