Florida criminal defense attorney and Past-President of The Florida Bar, Michelle Suskauer, spoke with Action News Jax about a Jacksonville case involving a man accused of groping and exposing himself to a teenage student on a Duval County school bus.
According to investigators, 41-year-old Todd Kinard Cullers boarded a school bus carrying Riverside High School students and allegedly touched and exposed himself to a student before being removed from the bus. Court records show Cullers has a lengthy criminal history involving allegations of violence against women, stalking, sexual offenses, and exposing himself.
Last week, a Duval County judge found Cullers incompetent to stand trial, and he is now being held at a state mental health hospital.
Suskauer explained that competency findings require extensive legal and medical evaluation and are not made lightly by the courts.
“A court doesn’t just take someone’s word for it and make their own evaluation that somebody is not competent,” Suskauer said. “Experts have to weigh in to make sure that is the case.”
She also noted that a finding of incompetence does not necessarily mean a defendant will be quickly released, and that the legal process continues even after such a ruling.
The case has raised broader concerns about school safety, mental health treatment, and how individuals with significant criminal histories continue to move through the justice system.
Read the full story here:
‘Traumatized My Daughter’: Man Incompetent for Trial After Alleged Groping of Student on Duval Bus (Action News Jax)
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/traumatized-my-daughter-man-incompetent-trial-after-alleged-groping-student-duval-bus/7OJZXNTLAVDJBFH3G6NNALAGV4/
