Underwood v. State
Underwood v. State
Opinion of the Court
Joseph Underwood appeals his conviction and sentence for sexual activity with a minor while in familial authority in violation of section 794.011(8)(b), Florida Statutes (2005), and false imprisonment in violation of section 787.02(1), (2), Florida Statutes (2005). We affirm the false imprisonment conviction and sentence.
Regarding the sexual activity conviction, Underwood claims the jury instructions were erroneous because the jury was not instructed that in order to convict him of sexual battery by union, the jury had to find that Underwood’s sexual organ had been in union with the victim’s vagina. See § 794.011(l)(h), Fla. Stat. (2005) (defining “sexual battery” as the “oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another or the anal or vaginal penetration of another by any other object....”); Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Crim) 11.6.
AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; and REMANDED.
. Florida Standard Jury Instruction (Criminal) 11.6 provides in pertinent part that one of the elements the state needs to prove beyond a reasonable doubt in order to convict an individual of sexual battery by union is that
(Defendant) committed an act upon (victim) in which:
a. [the sexual organ of the [ (defendant) ] [ (victim) ] ... had union with the [anus] [vagina] [mouth] of the [ (victim) ] [ (defendant) ]].
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.