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Lunsford's Lawyer Lashes Out At Bubba The Love Sponge

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TBO.com

Published: March 7, 2008

Updated: 03/07/2008 11:05 pm

TAMPA Mark Lunsford's lawyer sent a letter today to Bubba the Love Sponge Clem saying the radio personality's comments about Lunsford have been slanderous and libelous.

Clem already had been given cease-and-desist demands and demands for retractions, but he didn't follow through, lawyer Eric "Rick" Block wrote.

Lunsford is the father of murdered 9-year-old Jessica Marie "Jessie" Lunsford.

"Mr. Clem, Cox Radio and its broadcasters should be ashamed. Mark Lunsford has suffered the worst tragedy that any parent can imagine - the loss of a child," Block wrote. "Despite your representations to the public to the contrary, in no way was Mr. Lunsford negligent in caring for his child."

A Florida statute says specific demands for retractions must be outlined before legal actions can be filed, Block said when reached by phone about 10 p.m. tonight. He said he would be surprised if there wasn't a lawsuit filed.

There's also the hope that the letters will force Clem to stop, Block said.

Separately, Lunsford and his attorneys filed notice last month of their intent to sue the sheriff's office. They said lapses in judgment and mistakes by the sheriff's office were swept under the rug.

State Sen. Michael Bennett, R-Bradenton, is pushing for a bill that would keep law enforcement agencies from being sued. Bennett filed his bill after Lunsford filed his notice against the sheriff's office. He is calling it the "Mark Lunsford Show Respect and Gratitude to Law Enforcement Act."

Last year, John Evander Couey was convicted and sentenced to death for raping and killing Jessie in February 2005, but Lunsford contends that the Citrus County Sheriff's Office should have found Jessie before she was buried alive.

Sheriff Jeff Dawsy has called that accusation baseless.

Bennett said he doesn't expect his bill to pass and that since government agencies are liable for a maximum $100,000 in lawsuits unless the Legislature approves more, the bill might not serve a purpose.

"Was this investigation the best I've ever seen? Certainly not," Bennett said this week. "But law enforcement ripped their hearts out for this guy. At the funeral, some of the deputies literally wept. The country poured their heart out for this guy. Now that it appears he has run out of money, he wants to sue someone? The case could be made that when his daughter was abducted, where was he?"

Bennett said Lunsford "is really showing ingratitude."

Lunsford's attorney, Mark Gelman, said this week that Bennett is welcome to call him and be educated about Lunsford's potential lawsuit against the sheriff's office.

"If he knew the facts, he would have a different point of view," Gelman said.

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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