KYLE WARREN FIKE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 2011-06-03
No. 5D09-3465
MONACO, C.J. and EVANDER, J„ concur.
63 So. 3d 847 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2011) Positive Treatment
Cited by 1 case

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Fike appealed his sexual predator designation following a nolo contendere plea to lewd or lascivious conduct. The Florida appellate court reversed the designation, holding that Fike's prior Michigan conviction for assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct did not qualify as a "violation of a similar law of another jurisdiction" because the Michigan statute lacks the victim-age requirement present in Florida's comparable offense.


Holding

The Michigan conviction does not qualify as a similar law because the Michigan statute does not require proof that the victim was younger than sixteen years old, whereas Florida's lewd or lascivious offense statutes explicitly require this element. Therefore, Fike did not qualify for sexual predator designation.


Headnotes

[1] A prior conviction qualifies for sexual predator designation under Florida law if it is a violation of a similar law of another jurisdiction.

[2] For a foreign conviction to be considered a violation of a "similar law" for sexual predator designation, the elements of the foreign offense must be substantially simila…

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Key Quotes

“Sexual predator designation is not a punishment, only a status.”

Establishes that sexual predator designation is classified as a status rather than punishment, which affects the applicable legal framework for determining whether out-of-state convictions qualify.

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Facts & Procedural History

Kyle Warren Fike previously had his sexual battery convictions reversed on appeal due to improper evidence admission. On remand, he pled nolo contende…

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Opinion of the Court
COHEN, J.

COHEN, J.

The issue in this appeal is whether Kyle Warren Fike’s Michigan conviction qualifies as a “violation of a similar law of another jurisdiction” under section 775.21(4)(a)l.b., Florida Statutes (2009), such that he could be designated a sexual predator. Reluctantly, we conclude it cannot.

This is Fike’s second appeal to this court. In his first appeal, this court reversed his convictions for sexual battery and two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation on his eleven-year-old daughter because the trial court erred in admitting evidence that Fike forced his former brother-in-law to perform oral sex on him when the boy was between three and seven years old. See Fike v. State, 4 So.3d 734 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009). On remand, Fike pled nolo contendere to one count of lewd or lascivious conduct. After accepting the plea and sentencing him, the trial court designated Fike a sexual predator based on his prior Michigan conviction for assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct involving penetration, in violation of MCL 750.520g(l).1

Sexual predator designation is governed by section 775.21(4)(a)l.b. and requires a qualifying current felony conviction, which the parties concede was met when Fike pled to lewd or lascivious conduct — a violation of section 800.04, Florida Statutes. It also requires a qualifying prior conviction. A prior conviction qualifies when a defendant

has previously been convicted of or found to have committed, or has pled nolo contendere or guilty to, regardless of adjudication, any violation of s. 787.01, s. 787.02, or s. 787.025(2)(c), where the victim is a minor and the defendant is *849not the victim’s parent or guardian; s. 794.011, excluding s. 794.011(1), excluding 794.011(10); s. 794.05; s. 796.03; s. 796.035; s. 800.04; s. 825.1025; s. 827.071; s. 847.0133; s. 847.0135, excluding s. 847.0135(6); s. 847.0145; or s. 985.701(1); or a violation of a similar law of another jurisdiction;

§ 775.21(4)(a)l.b.

What constitutes a “violation of a similar law of another jurisdiction” has not been addressed in the context of sexual predator designation. In the context of sentencing, however, the supreme court has required the elements of the out-of-state conviction be similar to those of a Florida statute. See Dautel v. State, 658 So.2d 88, 89 (Fla.1995); Forehand v. State, 537 So.2d 103, 104 (Fla.1989). While these decisions are persuasive, we do not find them to be binding because being designated a sexual predator does not implicate the same considerations or concerns involved in sentencing. Sexual predator designation is not a punishment, only a status. See § 775.21(d).

The meaning of “violation of a similar law of another jurisdiction” need not be fully defined or explored because Fike’s Michigan conviction does not qualify him for sexual predator designation. The assertion that the lewd or lascivious offenses listed in section 800.04 are similar is unpersuasive because these offenses require proof the victim was younger than sixteen years old. MCL 720.520g does not and, therefore, it is not a similar law.2 Consequently, we conclude that Fike did not qualify for sexual predator designation and the designation must be reversed.

REVERSED.

MONACO, C.J. and EVANDER, J„ concur.


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