Plantation man arrested on charges of extorting, harassing state Sen. Lauren Book
Florida police have arrested 19-year-old XXXX of Plantation on cyber stalking and extortion charges after he allegedly faked sexually-explicit photos of state Sen. Lauren Book and threatened to distribute them to news media outlets.
Book, a Plantation Democrat who chairs the Senate Democratic Caucus, is a widely known advocate for victims of child abuse and sexual abuse.
According to the Broward County Sheriff’s arrest report, Book — whose name is redacted — complained to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) that she had received multiple text messages from an unknown number that included two photographs of the senator “with exposed breasts” and also threatened to “leak the photos to Fox and her career would be over.”
XXXXalso allegedly texted sexually explicit photos that included female genitalia and the portrayal of a sexual act, and asked for $5,000 in gift cards in exchange for destroying the photos. Book told agents that she recognized the first two pictures of her breasts as those “she had taken of herself and only shared with a close friend.”
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article256293082.html#storylink=cpy
Umm I wouldn’t wish what this guy allegedly did on anybody, including the state senator. However, I don’t know what to say about her admitting responsibility for two of the photos.
Has anyone stopped for a moment to wonder HOW a 19 yr old even HAD these photos of her? And for how long did he have them? How long ago were they taken and distributed to this “friend” of hers? And why would she send pics of her bare breasts over an electronic device? Even if it was some medical related issue, you don’t send images of parts of your body over a damn text message or email. You just don’t.
Things that make you go “hmmm”
Wait…what??? With everything going on and the stance she takes on these issues, and she has shared pictures of her own breasts? What in the world are you thinking Ms. Book? Having said that, I wouldn’t wish this on anyone and you’ve got to wonder how the 19 year old thought for even a second that this was a good idea. I’m sure this will end up hurting our cause somehow, its hard to not become more discouraged.
Extortion— sexual or otherwise— is wrong, even when the victim is someone we disagree with politically.
It would be a mistake to fall back on mysogyny and post something like, “the blonde bimbo deserved it.” She’s not a bimbo, and she didn’t.
Calling 1 woman a “bimbo” is not what defines “mIsOgYnY”. No one hates ALL women just because they may hate or dislike a few. Good grief!
Furthermore, wouldn’t it be more interesting to find out why a mere 19 yr old did this? We’re talking about a 19 YEAR OLD. Someone who’s life is only just beginning. Fresh out of high school and possibly on his way to college. And your first thought is “bimbo” = “misogyny”? Wow!
A bimbo is defined as an attractive but stupid young woman. a foolish, stupid, or inept person. a man or fellow, often a disreputable or contemptible one.
Well Lauren Book is quite stupid, contemptible, disreputable, and inept, as evidenced by her time in office especially after the Parkland shooting and the recent special sessions over vaccine mandates.
Attractiveness is relative. I don’t find her the least bit appealing. So maybe I have been calling her the wrong thing all this time?
To clarify, Sen Book is a lot of things, but she’s def not a bimbo.
We KNOW she’s not foolish, stupid, inept, or disreputable. Because in the time we’ve been calling her all these things, even after the Parkland shooting, she has maneuvered herself into Senate minority leader. And you don’t become Senate Minority Leader by being any of those things. She may come across that way in the media, but trust me, she knows EXACTLY what she’s doing. So let’s not underestimate her, OK? (And no, your dad can’t make you Senate Minority Leader).
Now, is she smart in every respect? Of course not—consider how OnceFallen tricked her into suing him and losing. But even in that case, Sen Book turned her loss into a PR win, as evidenced by the linked article.
I regret that some people took offense at my cautionary words about misogyny. Some people are entirely comfortable with misogyny, and I get that. Views differ. But it’s not a strategy that will win sympathy for our movement.
CONT., You give Lauren too much credit. Lauren wouldn’t be where she is at today if big daddy Ron wasn’t greasing a lot of political wheels. Lauren Book does not run anything on her own– not her charity, not her senate seat, not even her own mouth. When Ron Book leaves this mortal coil you can be assured Lauren’s kingdom will implode because Lauren Book entirely incapable of doing anything but play the victim.
Sen Book is in no way inept at achieving what SHE wants— power, influence, pay. She is only inept at achieving what WE expect her to do, such as craft decent public policy and protect children as she claims to do.
“Achmed the Dead Terrorist” is only as funny as the person pulling his strings.
In the same way, Lauren Book is only as good as her dad. You are giving credit to the wrong people. Lauren Book is a good puppet, nothing more.
One other important point, what do you mean by I tried Lauren Book into suing? There was no trickery involved. Book filed a SLAPP suit in a failed attempt to intimate me and silence my activism.
seeing Derek Logue’s additional comments, I hope he’s right and I’m wrong.
“ And you don’t become Senate Minority Leader by being any of those things.”
But you can become a Congress woman (AOC) and yes, AOC is a bimbo. Did you ever see her video ranting about how cauliflower is “racist”? And no, she was NOT joking. I saw the video. It was one of her FB/IG Live videos. She couldn’t be more serious.
Aaaaaand you jumped right back on to the “misogyny” bandwagon. I will repeat myself although since it’s obvious you are left leaning, this FACT will not matter to you;
Not liking ONE woman or any GROUP of women (i.e. “the squad”) does NOT QUALIFY AS MISOGYNY. Get over yourself.
Do you call women “misandrists” when they insult 1 man? Or is it OK to be a man hater? When people say “F Trump” or “F DeSantis”, is that not misandrist? Pardon me. My bad. I’m certainly a hater of ALL WOMEN because of my negative opinions about A FEW.
Grow up from this crap of calling people “misogynistic” or “bigoted” or “phobic”. Those words do NOT make you win an argument. No. They don’t. And they never will.
FAC, please post this comment.
Have to disagree. Evil people deserve evil karma. Until that criminal stops harassing people every day then I’m happy if evil is done to her.
No surprise that Book gets the best cyber task force to investigate her stalker while thousands of rape kits sat in Florida for years not analyzed before advocates were infuriated enough to enact change. Still, FDLE can legally take up to four months to process a victim’s evidence.
This is the problem with our justice system, it’s only justice for some. Apparently justice here in the US is not only blind, but deaf and dumb as well.
Come on, Anonymous. Don’t be so critical of the justice system. After all, it is best system that money can buy!
Anonymous
When I worked in law enforcement, Since I was the new guy, they gave me a huge box of unsolved crimes against black people. No one cared and they were thrown into a closet. Within 6 months I had solved numerous unsolved crimes for their community.
Since I was “Embarrassing” the department, they transferred me to another unit. How was I embarrassing? I suppose they looked like idiots when 1000 officers couldn’t do what I did in 6 months. Not patting myself on the back, just they were too lazy to actually talk to people who they feel do not pay taxes.
An example was the Gabby murder. Yes she was a beautiful blonde white girl. But how many other missing girls / boys get that kind of World wide coverage and Massive law enforcement exposure and response?
And of course the news ramped it up. I have no issue with the news helping but why can’t everyone’s missing child get the same 45 minute made for television “Gabby” special treatment tv event?
Again, she was probably a sweet heart so not bashing her or her family, just sometimes wonder who is in charge of what goes on in the World? It is not God because He is sitting back shaking His head waiting for the right moment to say ENOUGH!
All true, and I can’t help but think that some law enforcement jump so quickly on cases like these because Book is in a position to help their careers. Everyone else can wait at the back of the line apparently.
Anonymous
Exactly, and where is the task force that is going after the scammers constantly calling demanding money because they say they are police officers and I was supposed to come check in with them last week. And they want to help bail me out because there is a warrant for my arrest. There is no difference between these scammers and black mailers.
Why is it nothing can be done about them. Bull skits!!
It is not a justice system, but a legal system and one that money can buy as @Ed C and I have both noted previously. When the public learns to distinguish the difference, the sooner they will realize it needs continual reform for the better, not just more against people.
The last several paragraphs of the story— about Derek Logue— are a problem. The story alleges that Derek, too, engaged in “harassment and cyber stalking,” citing lower court rulings, without mentioning that the Supreme Court ruled otherwise. Derek did no such thing. They need to get their story straight rather than spin a narrative.
Derek should sue the press for libel.
FAC why the hell did you put “pictures of her breasts” in bold?
Assuming those are real pictures of her breasts (about which the story is wishy-washy), so what. Any consenting adult can transmit explicit pictures of themselves to a consenting adult if they want to. Even if that person works (or claims to work) as a child safety advocate. I abhor some of her bills, but she has not had anyone jailed for sending an explicit photo to a consenting adult.
“Assuming”? So when a person literally admits it’s themself it’s “assuming”? And so what if it’s in bold? It stands out to show that there were in fact ACTUAL NUDE photos of her. Not something doctored in photoshop.
And aren’t YOU “assuming” she took such pics as an adult? I sure hope so. I’d hate to find out she teen “sexted” someone years ago 🤣😂🤣
It would be interesting to learn of the chain of custody of those pictures and how they ended up in the possession of a 19 year old. Typically, young people socialize and share these types of things among peers. It would not be terribly unreasonable to even hypothesize that she shared them with someone underage, who shared them with others until they ended up with this young man. You just don’t know. As a victim, she should be willing to disclose to authorities the person to whom those pictures were shared as they are the critical link in the chain.
Oh, I could wish worse things than this on her. But nothing that’s as bad as the registry she so loves.
She may be humiliated for one news cycle, but she can escape back into anonymity legally. Registrants can’t.
For anyone laughing and saying this is a good thing, you are wrong. Hell hath no fury like a Book that is scorned. When you stir up a hive of hornets, well we are ALL going to pay for this somehow.
This is not how we move forward. Although only one (supposedly) person was involved, we are all as a collective going to be punished. Just like all these new laws, rules, and ordinances, they do not take individual circumstances under advisement. We all suffer for what a few have done.
I can’t imagine what idiotic law she will come up with next. She already helped pass a law that allows criminal charges for statements made about someone but not directed at them. She us obsessed with taking me down, so I suspect she will try her best to tie this person to me somehow.
What law is that? How does it work? What is the statute for reference?
Curious… Could help those who are harrassed for being on the hit list?
CS/HB 921, signed into law on 7/6/2021 (as Chapter No. 2021-220), contains a rather vague provision to the state’s cyberstalking law:
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/921/Amendment/725860/PDF
(d) “Cyberstalk” means:
To engage in a course of conduct to communicate, or to cause to be communicated, directly or indirectly, words, images, or language by or through the use of electronic mail or electronic communication, directed at or pertaining to a specific person;
It seems when I cut and pasted the new law, it did not show the additions made to the definition of cyberstalking. Book added “or indirectly” and “or pertaining to.”
But, if you think this is going to help US in any way, I wouldn’t get my hopes up if I were you. This will merely be abused by Book and other pols who want to silence critics.
Considering Lauren Book’s past track record of lying about being stalked, you’ll have to excuse my skepticism here.
It seems the Miami Herald’s journalistic standards have fallen off a cliff. Remember when the Miami Herald reported facts and qrote hjard hitting stories instead of kissing up to politicians? I don’t see where my fight over Lauren’s lies had any relevance here.
So Senator Book can once again claim victim status at a time that her ratings were slipping because of her ineptitude as the Democrat Senate leader?
I’m more curious to find out what was behind a 19 yr old doing this. We like to say “a Plantation man” but seriously, “man”…. I hardly see a 19 yr old as a “man”, regardless of what the government’s idea of adulthood is. If he were the victim of something, he’d be referred to as a “teen” in the article. I’ve seen it many times with 18 and 19 yr olds when they are the victims. But when they’re the perpetrators, suddenly they’re “women” and “men”.
Maestro, just as you said. The following report describes the “man” as a “teen.” Florida teen charged with extorting official with sexually explicit photos
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/florida/2021/12/03/florida-teen-charged-with-extorting-official-with-sexually-explicit-photos/
Can someone provide the accused contact info to me? I would like to make a donation to this individual’s legal fund. Thank you
QUESTION….
SHE ADMITTED TO THE PICTURES OF HER UPPER UDDERS….
SO, WAS THE IMAGE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN?
TruthandScience
As my great friend Ricky Ricardo use to say “Lucy you got some splainin to do”.
You spend your career terrorizing people, sometimes you get a little back. Actions have consequences. Isn’t that what her and her daddy always bleat?
I see that expressing opposition to use of the term ‘bimbo’ is triggering to some.
But, to quote one poster below, ‘those words do NOT make you win an argument. No. They don’t. And they never will.’
Seems to me you’re trying awfully hard to simp for Lauren Book. What’s your game?
Guess I’ll put my 2 cents worth in.
Sounds to me like the pictures must have been very underwhelming. Takes more than a couple of breasts to interest me. There has to be a personality behind them. In this case there is a complete failure.
This person is a complete failure as a human being so anything she has to offer is also revolting also. Just hope she is able to change that and become a decent person. But I’ve heard that people like that have a very high recidivism rate.
Wonder if this will be used to pass new laws on registrants in Florida or if this will be a future campaign fundraiser? In my gut I believe Lauren will someday run for governor and get elected.
Florida senator fights back over nude images stolen from her
https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-senator-fights-back-over-122006203.html