Florida bill aims at sex-offenders

Tallahassee, Fla. The Florida Legislature has passed a bill that would strengthen punishments for sex offenders after two recent killings of young girls.

Gov. Jeb Bush is expected to sign the Jessica Lunsford Act, named for a 9-year-old girl who was abducted, raped and killed.

The bill would set a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life in prison for people convicted of molesting children under 12. If offenders serve less than life, they would be required to wear a global positioning system device after their release so authorities could monitor their whereabouts.

Both chambers passed the measure unanimously – the House on Friday, the Senate on Thursday.

Convicted sex offender John E. Couey, who lived near Jessica Lunsford, is charged with her killing. Couey did not inform the state when he moved into Jessica’s neighborhood in Homosassa, about 60 miles north of Tampa.

Earlier this month, another sex offender was charged in the abduction and murder of 13-year-old Sarah Lunde of Ruskin. David Onstott, the man accused in the slaying, was convicted of a sex crime in 1995.

Girl, 5, handcuffed at school by police

St. Petersburg, Fla.A 5-year-old girl was handcuffed by police after she tore papers off a bulletin board and punched an assistant principal in kindergarten class, according to a video released by a lawyer for the child’s mother.

The 30-minute tape shows the child appearing to calm down before three officers pinned her arms behind her back and put on handcuffs as she screamed, “No!”

The camera was rolling March 14 as part of a classroom self-improvement exercise at Fairmount Park Elementary, attorney John Trevena said.

Trevena, who provided the tape to the media this week, said he got it from police.

“The image itself will be seared into people’s minds when you have three police officers bending a child over a table and forcibly handcuffing her,” said Trevena, who represents the girl’s mother, Inga Akins.

Police spokesman Bill Proffitt said an investigation into the matter would be complete in about two weeks and the findings would be made public.

Body inside freezer found after standoff

Campbell, Wis. A 15-hour standoff with a man suspected of shooting his neighbor ended Saturday when authorities coaxed him out of his house and made a grisly discovery: a body believed to be his mother’s stashed in his freezer.

Philip Schuth, 52, was being questioned while authorities continued to inspect his home. No charges had been filed as of Saturday afternoon.

Authorities said Schuth told them about the body during the overnight standoff, which began when he allegedly opened fire on a neighbor.

An autopsy was being performed to determine a cause of death, police said.

Schuth shot his neighbor after the man confronted Schuth about striking his 8-year-old son in the head and stealing his bicycle. The child’s father was treated at a hospital and released. His wife and child were not wounded.

Student drowns after restaurant deck jump

San Marcos, Texas A Texas State University student drowned after jumping into the San Marcos River from the deck of a restaurant where he worked, authorities said.

Jason Lee Bonnin, 22, of Sugar Land, did not surface after the second jump he took with three other Joe’s Crab Shack employees after the restaurant closed Thursday night. His body was later pulled from the river by divers.

Bonnin, a senior finance major, apparently was caught in an undertow near a short waterfall where the river’s headwaters at San Marcos Springs are held back by a dam.

While swimming is allowed in the area, signs are posted warning against diving because of underwater hazards.