The Fairfax County Police

The Fairfax County Police
Sweeping it under the carpet for over fifty years

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Cop gets life sentence for St. Johns child molesting





A former Vero Beach cop was sentenced to life in prison on three counts of lewd or lascivious sexual battery Tuesday by St. Johns County Circuit Court Judge Terry LaRue.
St. Augustine businessman James Scharfschwerdt, 55, was convicted Dec. 11 on the charges involving a victim who is now a senior in high school.
The victim said Scharfschwerdt won his trust as a 14-year-old and took advantage of it. Due to a recent court ruling, prosecutors were allowed to present testimony from the accuser in this case as well as three other men. Ranging in age from 18 to 37, they talked about similar sexual encounters with Scharfschwerdt when they were minors.
Scharfschwerdt was also an Indian River County sheriff’s deputy.