Background
Brian John Wilson was charged by third amended information with attempted sexual battery and sexual battery on a mentally defective person. The alleged victim was a developmentally disabled adult whose mental ability was described as childlike.
A jury found Wilson guilty of battery, a lesser included offense of attempted sexual battery, and acquitted him of sexual battery. Based on his prior record, the circuit court sentenced him as a habitual felony offender to ten years’ imprisonment.
The Court’s Holding
The Second District affirmed the judgment and sentence. It held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in permitting the victim to testify while holding a teddy bear. Section 92.55(5), Florida Statutes (2025), authorizes trial courts to impose just and appropriate conditions when taking testimony from a person with an intellectual disability in a sexual-offense proceeding.
The court also rejected Wilson’s claim that his six-person jury violated the federal Constitution. Although the U.S. Supreme Court had granted review in Kian v. Florida, existing precedent, including Williams v. Florida, remained controlling and permitted six-person juries in noncapital criminal cases. No fundamental error occurred.
Key Takeaways
- Trial courts may allow an intellectually disabled sexual-offense victim to use a comfort item while testifying.
- Section 92.55(5) gives courts discretion to set appropriate testimonial conditions for persons with intellectual disabilities.
- Florida appellate courts remain bound by precedent upholding six-person juries in noncapital criminal cases unless and until that precedent changes.
Why It Matters
The decision confirms broad trial-court discretion to accommodate vulnerable witnesses in sexual-offense cases, while leaving ordinary fairness objections subject to abuse-of-discretion review.
It also preserves Florida’s six-person-jury practice for noncapital criminal cases despite pending Supreme Court review of that issue in another case.