Hal Uhrig, the attorney best known to many for representing the George Zimmerman case in Orlando, is out on bond after being charged with solicitation to commit perjury and tampering with or harassing a witness, victim or informant, according to authorities.
Uhrig is being accused of attempting to persuade a juvenile rape victim to deny it ever happened to the State Attorney.
“The victim didn’t buy into what he was trying to sell. She didn’t feel comfortable with it and she’s the hero,” Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez shared at a media conference held on Monday. “My hat goes off to her because it takes guts to do what she’s doing.”
Deputies said the incident occurred several years ago during a case when Uhrig represented a man charged with raping a 9-year-old girl. He held a meeting in his office involving the accused rapist, the victim and the victim’s father.
“The point of the meeting was to keep the rapist from going to jail,” Sheriff Marco Lopez said.
That didn’t happen. Instead, the girl and her father reported Uhrig to authorities in July.
Sheriff Lopez explained in the news conference on Monday that the father of the 9-year-old rape victim agreed to help authorities by meeting with the attorney, and to wear a recording device as part of the investigation.
“During the meeting, the attorney made him turn off his cell phone, and told the father to read a script off of his computer screen,” Sheriff Lopez said.
Uhrig will now appear before a judge in Osceola County on third-degree and capital felonies. The attorney has practiced law in Central Florida for over 30 years.
