(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier slammed Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Monique Worrell after her office refused to prosecute two men arrested on sex-related offenses, including possession of child abuse material.
In a letter sent on Friday, Uthmeier rebuked Worrell for dismissing charges against Kevin Chapman, a 61-year-old man allegedly spotted masturbating on a park bench near children, and Thomas Dolgos, a 47-year-old man accused of possessing dozens of child abuse images.
“These dismissals lacked sufficient legal justification, exhibit gross abuses of discretion, pose serious threats to public safety, and undermine the public’s confidence in the administration of justice,” Uthmeier wrote.
State Attorney Worrell declined to prosecute a 61-year-old man who masturbated in front of children, and dismissed a case against a man who possessed and shared videos showing rape of infants and toddlers.
Heinous actions that endanger kids. Do your job and enforce the law. pic.twitter.com/wFIPDty98h
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) September 26, 2025
Worrell, a George Soros-funded prosecutor, was previously removed from office in 2023 by Gov. Ron DeSantis for failing to enforce Florida law. She was voted back in office after being elected in November 2024.
Her return to office quickly reignited controversy. Uthmeier said a father and his child caught Chapman masturbating for roughly five minutes on a bench at Kit Land Nelson Park. Once he finished, Chapman allegedly dropped his pants and exposed himself while trying to flee.
Despite the eyewitness account, Worrell’s office called the case “not suitable for prosecution.” The father was never interviewed by her office.
Dolgos’s case followed a similar pattern. He had been arrested on multiple counts of possession of child pornography, but Worrell’s office dismissed the charges while the Office of Statewide Prosecution was in the process of taking over.
The move led to Dolgos’s release and an attempted escape to Canada. He was later apprehended by Canadian police and then extradited to Florida. If convicted on all counts, Dolgos faces a maximum sentence of 900 years.
At a press conference on Friday, Worrell defended her office’s actions, claiming Chapman could not be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. “All things that are wrong are not illegal,” she said of Chapman.
Addressing the Dolgos incident, she said: “It is dishonest and disingenuous for the attorney general to get up there and say that we dropped the charges in this case,” Worrell said. “The Office of Statewide Prosecution notified us that they were going to be taking the case over.”
Nope. It’s quite illegal. https://t.co/ykARY4NaVi
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) September 26, 2025
