Fifth Judicial Circuit of Florida Press Release
(Lake County, FL) Earlier today, State Attorney Bill Gladson was joined by Attorney General James Uthmeier and Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri during a press conference to make an important announcement regarding a recent conviction. Last week, May 28, 2025, a jury found 31-year-old Jose Gomez, guilty of Human Trafficking of a Child for Commercial Sexual Activity and three counts of Lewd or Lascivious Battery. Judge Cary F. Rada presided over the trial and sentenced the Defendant to LIFE in prison, as required by law.
“๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ซ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐จ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐จ ๐ ๐๐ง๐ช๐๐๐๐ก ๐ข๐๐ก๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ค๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ค๐ง๐ฉ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ข๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ช๐ข๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐. ๐๐ช๐ง๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ง๐, ๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐จ ๐๐จ ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ง ๐ข๐๐จ๐จ๐๐๐: ๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ค-๐ฉ๐ค๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ช๐ข๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ก๐ค๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐ข๐ข๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ฎ,” said Bill Gladson, Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney.
On July 15, 2024, officers with the Eustis Police Department were dispatched to a 9-1-1 hang-up call originating from an apartment off North Prescott Street in Eustis, FL. Law enforcement attempted to call back the phone number with no success. However, shortly after, nearby officers were flagged down by a person in distress.
The person, later identified as the victim, indicated to officers that they were dropped off at an apartment to meet with the defendant, later identified as Gomez. Once inside Gomezโs residence, the victim was offered money and drugs in exchange for sex. Gomez then proceeded to sexually batter the victim, who then yelled for him to stop. After kicking the defendant, the victim was able to escape, calling 9-1-1 and eventually fleeing the apartment before flagging down the officers. The victim was transported to a hospital for medical treatment.
While on scene, officers attempted to locate Gomez, and upon sight of law enforcement, Gomez barricaded himself inside his apartment. After several hours, Gomez was apprehended by a police canine and taken into custody. During a post-Miranda interview, Gomez told officers he was approached by an individual who offered to facilitate sex acts involving the victim for money. After arrangements were made for the victim to be taken to his apartment, Gomez paid $100 to engage in sexual activity with the victim. During the interview, officers observed visible signs of a physical altercation, with scratches on his body, consistent with the victimโs statements.
Law enforcement conducted a search warrant of the Defendantโs apartment to gather evidence. Additionally, a search of the Defendantโs cell phone was conducted with the assistance of the Lake County Sheriffโs Office, which led to key evidence used in the prosecution.
This case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Eddie Moffitt with the assistance of Victim Advocate Brittany Adkins and Assistant State Attorney Kati Cosden.
