A Florida man accused of child rape could be the first to be sentenced to death under a new law that recently went into effect to punish dangerous pedophiles.
Joseph Andrew Giampa, 36, was indicted for six counts of sexual battery upon a person under 12 years old and three counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child, The Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office said.
State Attorney William Gladson said his office would pursue the death penalty due to the “severity of the crime and its impact on the community.”
As The Blaze noted, Gladson believes Giampa qualifies for the death penalty because of how heinous and cruel his crimes were.
Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, said he supported the death penalty against the child rapist.
“Today, @flsao5 announced that they will seek the death penalty in a case of sexual battery against a child under age 12,” DeSantis wrote in a post on X.
“It will be the first case to challenge SCOTUS since I signed legislation to make pedophiles eligible for the death penalty. @flsao5 has my full support.”
Today, @flsao5 announced that they will seek the death penalty in a case of sexual battery against a child under age 12.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) December 14, 2023
It will be the first case to challenge SCOTUS since I signed legislation to make pedophiles eligible for the death penalty.
@flsao5 has my full support.
DeSantis signed House Bill 1297 in May, allowing dangerous pedophiles to face the death penalty.
“Governor DeSantis also signed HB 1297 to impose the death penalty for those pedophiles who commit sexual battery against children under the age of 12,” the DeSantis office said.
“The Governor is prepared to take this law all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule judicial precedents which have unjustly shielded child rapists from the death penalty and denied victims and their loved ones the opportunity to pursue ultimate justice against these most heinous criminals.”
However, according to previous U.S. Supreme Court rulings, the death penalty for sexual assault and other non-homicide crimes was prohibited.
According to the 2008 case of Kennedy v. Louisiana, the death penalty in cases without a death violates the Eighth Amendment provision against cruel and unusual punishment.
“When the law punishes by death, it risks its own sudden descent into brutality, transgressing the constitutional commitment to decency and restraint,” the majority justices stated.
Giampa was arrested in November after investigators reportedly “identified him as the man seen in a homemade video allegedly found on Giampa’s laptop raping a young boy, according to court records.”
Giampa reportedly led deputies to a camper, where they examined his laptop, which purportedly had an explicit video.
The Tampa Bay Times reported:
“The affidavit describes the video as depicting a man sexually abusing a child while recording the act. During a portion of the video, the man put the camera down and moved in front of it. Deputies identified the man as Giampa, according to the affidavit.”
Court documents revealed that the man in the video could be heard saying he knew the boy did not enjoy the sexual abuse but that he “likes it more when [the victim] does not like it.”
According to court docs, the man in the video is heard saying he knows the boy did not enjoy the sexual abuse but that he “likes it more when [the victim] does not like it.”
Giampa has pleaded not guilty.
READ: Federal Investigation Uncovers Disturbing ‘Satanic’ Pedophile Cult Targeting Kids
