POINCIANA — The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office made an arrest this week, in a case that offers a sobering reminder of the risks of using high technology in the wrong way.
A Poinciana man was arrested, and charged with capital sexual battery, and lewd and lascivious molestation. His target, the sheriff’s office notes, was a girl, starting at the age of eight.
The suspect’s weapon of choice, they added, was a tiny video camera.
James Sparks, 63, of Poinciana, was arrested and booked into the Osceola County Jail with no bond.
Twis Lizasuain, public information officer for the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, noted the investigation started on July 1, after deputies got a report from a woman who said her daughter had discovered a video camera in the bathroom at Sparks’ home.
“She asked her daughter about the camera and as they were talking, her older daughter indicated her younger sister had been inappropriately touched by Sparks, a family member, on several occasions several years ago when the victim was 8-years old,” Lizasuain noted in her report. “She indicated it had not happened recently.”
Osceola detectives launched an investigation, and were able to determine that Sparks had indeed put a camera in his bathroom.
Lizasuain said detectives interviewed Sparks, and “he also made comments which confirmed the victim’s allegations. Based on his statements, a warrant was issued for capital sexual battery (domestic) and lewd/lascivious molestation.”
In Florida, it’s illegal to intentionally use or install a device to secretly view, broadcast or record people privately, particularly if it exposes their bodies when they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
The crime is a felony.

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