Florida Supreme Court Disbars Attorney For Making Sex Films in Jail Visiting Room
Andrew Spark allegedly used his Florida Bar card to enter the Pinellas County Jail on November 25, 2017, falsely claiming to represent a prisoner who was an adult film actress he previously met at a pornography convention. While they were in the jail’s attorney visitation room, he asked if she was interested in making pornographic movies with him while in jail, telling her he had similar agreements with other female prisoners. He said he would publish the film online and send money to her. She told him she would think about it and told her family about the encounter. They reported it to local authorities.
The jail conducted an investigation that revealed Spark had previously met with another female jail prisoner. Records showed Spark had made several deposits into that prisoner’s jail account. When confronted with the facts of the investigation, she admitted that Spark had brought a tablet computer into the jail and used it to video record them having sex in an attorney visitation room. She agreed to work with investigators as an informant.
When Spark returned to the jail a few weeks later and asked to see the prisoner he had previously made films with, he was shown to an attorney visitation room that, unbeknownst to him, was equipped with functioning video cameras. He was video-recorded asking the prisoner for oral sex, which he intended to video record on his tablet. As soon as he unzipped his pants, law enforcement dropped the hammer on him, entering the room and arresting him.
Spark pleaded guilty to felony introduction/possession of contraband in a county detention facility, and misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution. He was sentenced to five years of felony probation and a concurrent 12 months of misdemeanor probation and ordered to undergo a mental health examination.
During the investigation of Spark’s activities, images of a female prisoner being held at a jail in Hillsborough County were discovered. An examination of recorded prisoner phone calls turned up one made on October 12, 2017 in which the prisoner asked Spark to put money into her jail account. He agreed to do so, saying it was for the first porn shoot. Jail records showed he had visited her the next day and put $10 into her account.
Spark was again charged with introduction/possession of contraband (his tablet) and solicitation of prostitution. He pleaded guilty to the third-degree felony of introduction of contraband and was placed on 56 months of probation concurrent with the Pinellas County sentence.
The Florida Bar initiated disciplinary proceedings against Spark. He represented himself with the aid of attorney Roger Lamont Young. A referee issued a report to the Florida Supreme Court recommending disbarment.
The report noted that Spark had tried to silence the prisoners by having them sign contracts subjecting them to $1,000,000 in penalties should they reveal his identity to anyone. He had obtained a sample contract from a friend in the pornography industry and used it to draft his own contracts.
In recommending disbarment, the report noted aggravating factors of a dishonest or selfish motive, a pattern of misconduct, multiple offenses, refusal to acknowledge the wrongful nature of the conduct, vulnerability of the victims, and substantial experience practicing law. This overrode Spark’s lack of a prior disciplinary history and cooperative attitude. The Supreme Court agreed and disbarred Spark. See: Florida Bar v. Spark, 2021 Fla. Lexis 98.
Additional source: lawandcrime.com
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Related legal case
Florida Bar v. Spark
| Year | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 2021 Fla. Lexis 98 |
| Level | State Supreme Court |
| Conclusion | Bench Verdict |