There’s attorney-client privilege, and then there’s attorney-client privilege. One is a noble calling to protect the rights of the common people. The other is a pathetic scheme to use your position as cover to get your jollies. Chalk another one up for Florida (naturally) Lawyer.
Prison Pornography
In a tale too lurid for Penthouse Forum, attorney (and former Florida Assistant Attorney General!) Andrew Spark met adult film auteur Shauna Boselli at a convention. But Boselli’s films weren’t at all tasteful. She and her husband were convicted on federal child pornography charges in 2017.
While Boselli was awaiting sentencing, Spark, out of a desire to star in pornographic films himself, visited her in prison, using his Florida Bar identification card and posing as her attorney to get access to her. Spark then propositioned Boselli to allow him to film her performing sexual favors on him in exchange for putting money in her prison commissary account, saying that he had already done it with another inmate.
After Boselli told her family, law enforcement determined that Spark had already done the deed as he had said. Again, he’d used his Florida Bar ID to get access and his tablet to film the encounter with a woman who he had previously represented.
Police then set up a jailhouse sting, where Spark was literally caught with his zipper down. He was convicted for solicitation of prostitution and bringing contraband into a prison and has been on probation since 2019.
Was That Wrong?
Ol’ Sparky’s troubles didn’t stop there. The Florida Bar Association started its own investigation. We can only imagine how it went.
Unfortunately for our lusty lawyer, Rule 4-8.4 of the Florida Bar Association’s rules of professional conduct is pretty clear:
(b) A lawyer shall not commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects;(i) A lawyer shall not engage in sexual conduct with a client or a representative of a client that exploits or adversely affects the interests of the client or the lawyer-client relationship.
After already serving as tabloid fodder once for his criminal case, Spark now gets to go through the media cycle again. The Florida Bar announced late last month that Spark is disbarred, which does free him up to pursue his interests in a safe, legal setting.
Mock, but Don’t Minimize
We are all correct to mock Spark for his brazen stupidity and above-the-law attitude and enjoy him getting his comeuppance, but we shouldn’t lose sight of what he did. He preyed on incarcerated women, who are exceptionally vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation.
It does not matter if he compensated the women for their “services.” This is a vastly different issue from the debate around legalizing sex work because women in prison are often far too scared to refuse an offer like the ones Spark made. If you have an incarcerated family member, and you get a hint that something like this could be happening to them, there are civil rights and personal injury attorneys who can help.