A 51-year-old Port St. Lucie man is facing three felony charges of sexual battery after a 16-year-old relative told investigators he assaulted her multiple times inside the home they shared. Jean Emile Revange was arrested last Sunday and booked into the St. Lucie County Jail, accused of sexually battering a person between the ages of 12 and 17 without physical force likely to cause serious injury.
The case began when the teen was treated at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center for severe abdominal and pelvic pain, according to WPEC. While being treated, she disclosed to investigators that Revange, who is her father's cousin, had sexually assaulted her. The hospital where she was admitted is now known as HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital, a 497-bed facility in Fort Pierce that serves as the Treasure Coast's primary Level II Trauma Center, according to HCA Healthcare. Hospital staff are legally required to immediately report any suspected child sexual abuse to the state hotline under Florida Statute § 39.201, with failure to do so carrying potential felony penalties for the personnel involved, per the same statute as detailed by South Florida Hospital News.
A Forensic Interview Reveals a Pattern of Alleged Abuse
Investigators say the teen identified Revange as her attacker during both hospital and forensic interviews, per the arrest affidavit cited by the station's report. Police say they ended their own initial questioning so a specially trained forensic interviewer could speak with the teen at a Children's Advocacy Center, since she has cognitive and developmental limitations that affected how she communicated. Local advocacy centers, including a facility in St. Lucie West, conduct these recorded interviews in child-friendly settings specifically designed to minimize distress and avoid repeated questioning of young victims, according to background reporting from Treasure Coast Newspapers.
During the interview, the teen described multiple alleged assaults occurring in different parts of the Port St. Lucie home she shared with Revange, his wife and several other relatives. She could not provide exact dates for most of the incidents but told investigators she believed at least one assault happened around September 22 or 23, the article notes.
A Recorded Call and a Recantation
To gather further evidence, police arranged a controlled telephone call between the teen's father and Revange. Such recordings are legal in Florida only because of a specific law enforcement exception to the state's two-party consent wiretap law, which permits police to secretly record a call so long as one participant consents in order to gather evidence of a crime, as outlined in Florida Statute § 934.03(2)(c) and detailed by the Florida Senate. During that call, Revange initially denied the allegations but then admitted to having sexual intercourse with the teen, police said, adding that he told them he could not remember when the relationship began or when it most recently occurred.
Two days later, Revange denied the allegations again during a separate interview conducted in Creole, according to the station's report. He told investigators that his earlier admissions during the recorded call were made only to appease the teen's father, not because they were true. The Port St. Lucie Police Department, which provided the arrest affidavit, arrested Revange that same day and booked him into the St. Lucie County Jail.
What Revange Could Face If Convicted
Each count of sexual battery on a victim aged 12 to 17 without force likely to cause serious injury is classified under Florida law as a second-degree felony, carrying a statutory maximum of up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine per count, according to Musca Law. With three counts filed, Revange faces a potential maximum of 45 years behind bars if convicted on all charges. Florida law also allows for sentencing enhancements when an offender holds a position of familial or custodial authority over a minor victim, a factor prosecutors may weigh given that Revange lived in the same home as the teen as her father's cousin, per an explanation of Florida Statute § 794.011(8) from the Sammis Law Firm.
A conviction would also require Revange to register as a sex offender for life under Florida Statute § 943.0435, a status that carries lasting restrictions on where he could live and work, according to Demmery Law. Defense attorneys in Florida frequently challenge police-arranged controlled calls like the one used in this case through pre-trial motions to suppress, testing whether the consenting party's cooperation was truly voluntary and whether law enforcement followed proper protocol, according to Fallgatter & Catlin, P.A.
