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The Miami Herald¶
Published: Friday, March 24, 1995¶
Section: LOCAL¶
Page: 7B¶
CHILES CALLS FOR PROBE IN CHILD SEX ABUSE CASE¶
Associated Press¶
Gov. Lawton Chiles has ordered a criminal investigation into the handling of a child molestation case tainted with allegations of political interference and shoddy case work.¶
Chiles assigned Daytona Beach State Attorney Steve Alexander, whose office investigated the child sex abuse claims against Andres Sanchez, to look into questions raised by a Hillsborough County grand jury this week.¶
“It would be fair to say that the grand jury was astonished by the way this particular matter was handled, and it appears that there was political pressure put on some underlings at some of these agencies to not follow the standard operating procedure,” Alexander wrote Chiles Wednesday in response to the grand jury’s request for a new inquiry.¶
In his letter, Alexander asked for Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents from outside Tampa to conduct an investigation, which could last six months.¶
“The way this case was investigated was in the best light lackadaisical, and in the worst light politically undermined,” he wrote.¶
The grand jury on Monday charged Sanchez, 52, with seven counts of sexual battery. He is accused by a niece of sexually abusing her between 1987 and 1993 while she lived with her relatives.¶
Sanchez is married to Carmen Sanchez, a Democratic activist and staunch supporter of Hillsborough State Attorney Harry Lee Coe III.¶
According to records and interviews, the girl went to live with the Sanchezes after her parents divorced in 1983.¶
She first reported the abuse in 1987 to a guidance counselor at Claywell Elementary School in North Tampa, who reported the claims after inviting the Sanchezes to confront the girl and her allegations.¶
Valentine Munoz, the guidance counselor who retired last year, denied such a meeting took place.¶
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HRS closed the case after the girl recanted the allegations. Alexander has said the recantation occurred after she was pressured by her aunt and uncle.¶
In July 1993, HRS reported the sexual abuse complaint to Tampa police after the girl repeated the allegations. After an examination, the department completed a criminal report affidavit charging sexual battery and shipped it to Coe’s office for review in September 1993.¶
Seven months later, after the family told an assistant state attorney Coe had a conflict because of his friendship with Carmen Sanchez, he asked the governor to assign a new prosecutor. Chiles assigned Alexander.¶
Coe said Wednesday that when he learned of the Sanchez case, he ordered his office removed from the investigation “within five minutes.”¶
The new investigation was welcomed by the girl’s family.¶
“I just love it,” said the girl’s grandmother in Virginia. “It’s about time. She was 15 years old in 1993. Now she’s 17. That goes to show how it was pushed off, squashed.”¶
Tampa police spokesman Steve Cole said detectives handled the investigation properly, and the department welcomed a review of their actions.¶
HRS spokesman Tom Jones said any accusations of political overtones by the agency are “irresponsible.”¶
Coe vehemently denies allegations of political favoritism and said he was “outraged” at the suggestion.¶
E-mail us at feedback@herald.com with your comments or questions.¶
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