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shadowcat

Atlanta suburb

A Fort Lauderdale man accused of picking up a prostitute while impersonating a police officer and threatening her with arrest if she did not have unprotected sex was the one in handcuffs Monday when he was taken into custody to begin a nine-month jail sentence.

Mark William Rose, 23, pleaded no contest to two felonies that carried a combined maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Prosecutors sought a two-year term of imprisonment, the defense lawyer hoped for probation, but the judge had indicated at a previous hearing that Rose's sentence would include time in a Broward County jail.

"He knew he was going to jail today, he knew he was going in," Rose's defense lawyer, Michael D. Weinstein, said Monday. "Mark has been as remorseful as any human being I've seen in 18 years of practice … he acknowledged his mistake and accepted the plea."

While carrying out his ruse, Rose drove the woman to the Broward Sheriff's Office headquarters on Broward Boulevard and pretended to have a phone conversation that made the arrest seem imminent, court records show.

When the woman grew skeptical about whether Rose really was a cop, she began to dial 911 on her cellphone and he drove off, according to an arrest report.

Rose had no criminal record but upon his arrest in August, he told deputies that he had used the same ploy on about a dozen occasions and was successful three of the times in getting the women to concede to sex without a condom, records show.


Man threatened to arrest prostitute if she didn't have unprotected sex, deputies say
"That's why he was given incarceration," Weinstein said. "He was never charged or convicted of any of those statements, but the court felt that his admissions were serious enough that it warranted incarceration."

Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra sentenced Rose to 270 days in jail and three years of probation. Rose's time behind bars will be subtracted from his term of probation. Upon release, he also must undergo a psychosexual evaluation and any recommended treatment. Rose was given credit for three days time served.

"The state recommended two years of prison time; the court chose not to give any prison time," said Ron Ishoy, spokesman for the Broward State Attorney's Office.

Although Rose pleaded no contest to falsely impersonating an officer and false imprisonment, he was not formally convicted of the felonies.

The victim had previously testified that she was receptive to a plea deal.

"She said it was a very difficult experience for her," Weinstein said. "She admitted to being a prostitute but her position was this shouldn't have happened to her, regardless of what her profession was."

Though "devastated," Rose's parents have stood by him since his arrest, Weinstein said.

"They think he has a chance of turning his life around," Weinstein said. "They just want to make sure that he gets help and he moves on with his life."