MANILA, Philippines — The death penalty is being sought for a Filipino American nurse in Florida, after he was charged with separate felonies, including 12 counts of sexual battery upon a child less than 12 years of age.
According to the Florida State Attorney Bill Gladson of the Fifth Judicial Circuit, Schubert Navarroza Macarat, 41, was indicted back in May for crimes against minors.
“This kind of criminal depravity demands only one response from the State. Today, I filed a Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty in the event the defendant is found guilty,” Gladson said in a statement.
“We are seeking to prematurely end this defendant’s life because the crimes he committed are so heinous that no other punishment is fitting,” he added.
Last March 22, Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies answered a call for service regarding a past sexual offense, with some of the evidence recovered showing a 4-terabyte hard drive with at least 3,000 videos, 700 confirmed to have child sexual abuse material.
“A grand jury was convened yesterday to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to charge Macarat. The grand jury returned a true bill of indictment for a total of 47 separate felonies, including 12 counts of Sexual Battery upon a Child less than 12 years of age,” the Florida State Attorney’s statement read.
The Filipino American was arrested and held without bond at the Lake County Detention Facility.
Macarat’s case followed that of Filipino Edgardo Feralin Dormido, Jr, who lived in California and was charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on sexual abuse charges, and was believed to be hiding in the country. He was named on the FBI’s Most Wanted Facebook page last week.