Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Friday accused a Democratic state attorney he’s long-feuded with of declining to prosecute pedophiles.
Uthmeier hosted an Orlando press conference Friday morning to castigate Monique Worrell, state attorney for Orange and Osceola counties, for failing to prosecute a man who allegedly masturbated in front of children and another man accused of possessing thousands of videos of child pornography.
This was Uthmeier’s second press conference in a month targeting Worrell, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis removed from office in 2023 but subsequently won reelection.
“This is systematic abuse. This is gross negligence,” Uthmeier said, demanding she “reconsider” the dropped charges or he will try to get the case reassigned to another attorney. “[Worrell] took an oath, she’s not delivering on that oath, and we’re going to step up and do what we can to hold her accountable and to protect our citizens.”
Of note, the power to suspend and remove state attorneys lies solely with the governor. The attorney general exercises a mere “superintendent” role over Florida’s 20 elected state attorneys.
Worrell’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Uthmeier has long-clashed with Worrell. Earlier this month, he hinted that she should be suspended — again — for bringing a second-degree murder case against a women Uthmeier believes acted in self-defense. He recited the Florida Constitution’s ground for suspension of an elected official at a press conference, before asking her to investigate a former Democratic state senator for posting the location of ICE agents.
In April, amid a weeks-long war of words between Uthmeier, accused by her of being “uninformed,” and Worrell, whom he called “soft on crime,” the AG claimed she was ignoring a mounting backlog of cases. When Uthmeier served as DeSantis’ chief of staff, the governor suspended Worrell in August 2023 for allegedly neglecting “her duty to faithfully prosecute crime in her jurisdiction.”
Despite this, she retook her seat in November 2024 when voters chose her over Andrew Bain, appointed by DeSantis to replace her.
What are the cases that weren’t prosecuted?
According to a letter sent from the attorney general’s office to Worrell, there were two cases involving children that Worrell declined to prosecute. The first involves a man named Kevin Chapman, 61, arrested for lewd and lascivious exhibition in the presence of a child under 16.
“Not only did your office fail to pursue pretrial detention, but it declined to charge him, claiming that the case was ‘not suitable for prosecution,’” Uthmeier wrote. “I strongly encourage you to reconsider dismissing the charge against Chapman.”
The other case Worrell allegedly declined to prosecute was against Thomas Dolgos, who had his electronics searched and seized in June. During the search, Dolgos admitted to possessing child pornography. A preliminary view of his devices suggested thousands of images of child pornography, the letter says.
The Office of Statewide Prosecution assumed the case, but Uthmeier claims that an attorney from Worrell’s office “inexplicably” dismissed all charges and discharged Dolgos’ bond, freeing him. Dolgos was apprehended at the Canada border and the statewide prosecutor charged him with an additional 48 counts of child pornography.
“Your office’s dismissal of Dolgos’ charges was an unacceptable mistake,” Uthmeier wrote. “Your office should never dismiss a case OSP is managing. … At best, it suggests a lack of adequate training in your office. Please address this deficiency and make sure it does not happen again.”
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions: [email protected]. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.
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