Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Miami Herald - April 23, 2002
Scott Andron and Lesley Clark, sandron@herald.com
It's a law he hopes will bring peace of mind to his 17-year-old daughter, Lauren, who was allegedly sexually assaulted for five years by a former family housekeeper. The Books want to know whether the housekeeper has HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and a judge won't tell them. Ron Book figures the law will force the judge's hand.
"This has been a very difficult, painful experience," Book said Monday, hugging Lauren shortly after Gov. Jeb Bush signed his proposal into law. "Hopefully, this law will make it better."
It is not clear how much difference Book's law will make. Judges already were supposed to order an HIV test on an accused sex offender if bodily fluids were transferred to the victim. The law states unambiguously that the results are supposed to be shared with the victim upon request.
In Lauren's case, Broward Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes ordered the test, but Book says she never shared the results with the family.
Efforts to reach Holmes late Monday were unsuccessful.
Book persuaded the Legislature to add two new provisions to the existing law.
First, the new law spells out that a judge must provide the HIV test results within two weeks after the court receives the results.
And second, it says the test is required regardless of whether fluids are exchanged if the victim is a child or a disabled adult.
Bush signed these provisions Monday along with a variety of other changes to state laws dealing with sexual predators.
Book said he hopes the changes will prompt Holmes to share the results with his family.
"Sometimes you have to restate the law so people understand what their responsibility under the law is," he said.
Book said Lauren has tested negative, but experts have told him not to rest easy until results come back for the alleged assailant, Waldina Flores, who will face several counts of sexual battery in a trial slated for May 28.
Book is one of Florida's most influential lobbyists.
He represents more than 60 clients, ranging from the powerful business group Florida Associated Industries to Florida Power & Light, to Broward County government.
Book said he is concerned that other families also may have been denied access to an accused sex offender's HIV tests.
He's hoping the new law helps them, too.
"I've got reasonable access to the system," he said.
"I know what to do. What about people who don't know what to do?"
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