Man pleads guilty to juvenile sex crime, sentenced to 40 years

A Southport man who pled guilty to committing sexual acts on a young teen was sentenced to 40 years in prison Friday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Joseph Allen Kasprzyk

Joseph Allen Kasprzyk, 45, was set to go to trial Monday. Friday, he pled guilty to Lewd and Lascivious Battery, Lewd and Lascivious Molestation, and two counts of Possession of Child Pornography. Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark sentenced the defendant to 40 years in prison as a Sexual Predator.

RELATED NEWS: Man found guilty of threatening to kill sheriff’s deputy

RELATED NEWS: Dress-wearing man found guilty of shooting clerk

Prosecutor Frank Sullivan was prepared to present witnesses and evidence from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office that the defendant developed a sexual relationship with a girl in her early teens that came to the attention of investigators.

The defendant fled to Georgia, where he was later apprehended. A search warrant on his cell phone revealed videos that showed him having sex with the victim, as well as additional child pornography images.

Under Florida’s statutes involving sexual crimes against children, the defendant is not eligible to receive any gain time for the first 30 years of his sentence.

Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for its work in putting together the case and locating the defendant in Georgia.

For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.