Accused child rapist could face death penalty under new Florida law signed by DeSantis to punish  pedophiles

A Florida man faces the possibility of being sentenced to death under a new law that recently went into effect to punish dangerous pedophiles.

Joseph Andrew Giampa, 36, was indicted on Thursday for six counts of sexual battery upon a person under 12 years old and three counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child, according to the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.

State Attorney William Gladson of the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office declared that his office would pursue the death penalty due to the "severity of the crime and its impact on the community." Gladson believes Giampa qualifies for the death penalty because of how heinous and cruel his crimes were.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis voiced his support in seeking the death penalty against the child rapist.

“Today, @flsao5 announced that they will seek the death penalty in a case of sexual battery against a child under age 12,” DeSantis wrote in a post on X. “It will be the first case to challenge SCOTUS since I signed legislation to make pedophiles eligible for the death penalty. @flsao5 has my full support.”

DeSantis signed House Bill 1297 into law back on May 1 – which allows dangerous pedophiles to be punished with the death penalty.

"Governor DeSantis also signed HB 1297 to impose the death penalty for those pedophiles who commit sexual battery against children under the age of 12," the DeSantis office said. "The Governor is prepared to take this law all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule judicial precedents which have unjustly shielded child rapists from the death penalty and denied victims and their loved ones the opportunity to pursue ultimate justice against these most heinous criminals."

However, previous U.S. Supreme Court rulings prohibit the death penalty for sexual assault and other non-homicide crimes.

The 2008 case, Kennedy v. Louisiana, said using the death penalty in cases without a death violates the Eighth Amendment provision against cruel and unusual punishment.

“When the law punishes by death, it risks its own sudden descent into brutality, transgressing the constitutional commitment to decency and restraint,” the majority justices stated.

Giampa was arrested on Nov. 2 after Lake County Sheriff's Office investigators reportedly "identified him as the man seen in a homemade video allegedly found on Giampa's laptop raping a young boy, according to court records."

Giampa allegedly led deputies to a camper and allowed them to examine a laptop, which purportedly had an explicit video.

The Tampa Bay Times reported, "The affidavit describes the video as depicting a man sexually abusing a child while recording the act. During a portion of the video, the man put the camera down and moved in front of it. Deputie identified the man as Giampa, according to the affidavit."

According to court docs, the man in the video is heard saying he knows the boy did not enjoy the sexual abuse, but that he "likes it more when [the victim] does not like it."

Giampa has pleaded not guilty in this case.

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