On May 18th, 2021, in Pensacola, Florida, a previously convicted criminal Jared Paul Stanga has assaulted an 11-years old girl, trying to kidnap her. According to the Peiser’s (2021, May 19) article in The Washington Post, “the girl was waiting for a school bus, when a man stopped his white SUV, hopped out, and ran toward her with a knife” (pp. 1). Stanga’s intention was to get the girl into his car by grabbing her and threatening with a knife. However, the girl has fought off the abductor, which resulted in him releasing her unintentionally, and ran away towards her house. The police also claims that it was not the first incident with the man the girl experienced, as two weeks ago, Stanga approached her first and attempted to talk to her in Spanish. Moreover, Stanga has an extensive criminal history of sexually assaulting children. After a full-force manhunt, the police was able to catch the offender in a matter of hours. Stanga was charged with attempted kidnapping of a child under 13, as well as aggravated assault and battery.
Kidnapping is usually identified as a state crime, as long as the abductor and their victim do not cross state boundaries. If there has been a transit between states, the crime would be taken on the federal level. The U.S. Code claims that “whoever unlawfully kidnaps, abducts, or carries away and holds for ransom or reward or otherwise any person, shall be punished by imprisonment for any term of years or for life”. Federal criminal code specifies that kidnapping is a serious felony offense, and is punishable by up to 20 or more years of imprisonment. A certain case of kidnapping would be taken on a federal level, if is concerns the jurisdiction of federal government: for example, if the victim is transported interstate or even outside the U.S. borders. Stanga’s case would be prosecuted in the federal court if he would have managed to kidnap the girl, transport her outside Florida, and/or used means such as banking or mailing system to commit his crime.
However, most of the time, kidnapping is persecuted of a state level, and the sentence will vary on the circumstances and the severity of alleged offence. Stanga’s case is the example of a case which has to be persecuted in state court. In Florida, kidnapping is considered a first degree felony, and the offender, when convicted, would receive a severe punishment, such as life in prison or on probation, as well as financial charges. Florida Statutes would specify Stanga’s case as “an attempted confinement of a child under the age of 13 against her or his will without the consent of her or his parent or legal guardian” (pp. 1). Moreover, the fact that he used a knife to assault his victim resulted in additional charges towards him.
The main cultural factor that could influence the process of crime prosecution is Stanga’s ethnic background – he is allegedly Latin, as he spoke to the girl in Spanish. Current tendencies regarding the juridical treatment of people of color might have an impact on the court. This factor could result in Stanga being convicted to a punishment larger than he objectively deserves, or, on the contrary, lesser than he deserves. Either way, both statutes hold a very clear definition of kidnapping as a crime, and the case details and evidences leave no illusion about Stanga’s role in the crime. It is highly doubtful that the Latin culture would view Stanga’s actions towards the girl as anything more than the crime, seeing as the surveillance cameras provide a very clear rendition on what had happened. Overall, it can be concluded that both the American and the Latin culture would have no doubts that Stanga, with his history of sexual assault of children, should be found guilty in this particular case.
References
The Florida Senate. Chapter 787 Section 01 – 2020 Florida Statutes – The Florida Senate. (2020).
Peiser, J. (2021). Video shows 11-year-old girl fighting off a knife-wielding kidnapper: ‘This could have ended terribly’. The Washington Post.
The Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. (2010). Title 18. Crimes and Criminal Procedure. In United States Code. essay, U.S. G.P.O.