It’s now official, although we suspected as much. When it comes to castrating sex offenders, state law just isn’t as flexible as some judges think it should be.
A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal has unanimously reversed the surgical castration sentence of Paul Bruno, 35.
Three years ago, Bruno pleaded no contest to four counts of committing a lewd and lascivious act on a child. He cut a deal with the prosecution and was sentenced to 15 years. He opted for castration in lieu of a fifth charge, where he faced a sentence of more than 21 years.
The appellate court, however, found that neither surgical nor chemical castration is allowed by state law for a lewd and lascivious act. (Chemical castration, however, is permissible for sexual battery.)
Assistant State Attorney David Fleet, who prosecuted Bruno, declined to comment.
But I won’t.
Nice try, Dave. That definitely took cojones.