Weird - Bay County rapist to be castrated lessen his prison sentence

[kusozcom]

Bobby James Allen pleaded guilty Monday to several rapes and agreed to be castrated as a part of his plea agreement.

The procedure, the first of its kind in a Florida criminal case according to the State Attorney’s Office, has to be done within the next eight days. The earliest it could be done is today.

“You understand that this procedure is the removal of your testicles?” Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet asked.

Allen apparently filed a motion requesting the procedure to lessen his prison sentence.

If he goes through with the procedure, Overstreet will sentence Allen on Sept. 20 to 25 years in prison, minus the five years he’s spent in jail awaiting trial. Allen would not be eligible for gain time because of his classification as a dangerous sexual offender and would serve every day of his remaining prison sentence.

Upon release, he would be placed on 10 years of probation as a sexual predator, meaning he would have to wear a GPS tracking device and adhere to serious restrictions. If he violates his probation, Allen could be returned to prison for life.

Allen pleaded guilty to four counts of armed burglary of a dwelling with battery, three counts of armed sexual battery, resisting an officer with violence and attempted sexual battery. The burglary and rape charges are both punishable by life in prison.

The charges stem from a series of attacks in 1998 and 1999.

He’s accused of forcing his way into a Bob Loftin Road home on Jan. 19, 1999, and raping a 44-year-old woman at knifepoint. The woman, investigators said, managed to gather some of her attacker’s semen on her hand. Three years later, DNA from that matched a sample taken from Allen.

Allen was charged earlier this year with sexual battery of a child older than 12 while armed and burglary of an occupied dwelling while armed from an alleged attack on Christmas morning 1998. Investigators said DNA linked Allen to the crime.

Allen was released from the Florida Department of Corrections on Oct. 9, 1998, after serving five years for burglary and grand theft.

Two more attacks were attributed to Allen in court Monday, without going into specifics. Allen admitted to the attacks as a part of the plea agreement.

“I have spoken with all the victims,” prosecutor Larry Basford told Overstreet. “They agree that this sentence punishes him and would deter him and others from similar acts. They all agree that this is the appropriate sentence in this case.”

Overstreet went through the side effects of the operation with Allen to make sure he understood what to expect. If Allen avoids the procedure or fails to go through with it, Overstreet will void the plea and either move to trial or accept a plea without a negotiated sentence — meaning Overstreet would decide the penalty.

Overstreet said Allen can expect hormonal changes that could lead to the development of breasts, osteoporosis and hot flashes. The castration would cause sterility, a decline in sexual interest and erection problems.

“Those are potential side effects,” Assistant Public Defender Doug White said.

“I don’t want to call them potential,” Overstreet replied. For the purposes of a legal plea, the judge wanted Allen to be aware of and prepared for the worst. “I expect every one of these side effects to occur.”

Allen, his voice sounding strained, agreed to go forward with the plea and procedure.

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/8946