Attorney Harold “Hal” Uhrig, who represented George Zimmerman for a time while Zimmerman was on trial for killing Trayvon Martin, has been arrested and charged with solicitation to commit perjury and witness tampering.
Uhrig was arrested on Monday at the Osceola County courthouse and has bonded out. The lawyer is accused of pressuring a teenager who was allegedly raped when she was 9 years old to lie in court. Uhrig is defending the man accused of raping the girl.
She told authorities that Uhrig set up a meeting with his client, the victim and the victim’s father. She said Uhrig told her to write a letter to the state’s attorney claiming there was no rape, refuse to answer subpoenas and lie under oath if she was deposed.
Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez said the girl went to the state attorney and reported Uhrig following the meeting.
“The victim came forward and reported that conduct to the state attorney who was investigating the case July of this year 2021,” Lopez said, per WESH.
Lopez revealed that they had the father plan another meeting with Uhrig, wearing a recording device. During the meeting, Uhrig allegedly had the man read a script off of his computer.
Because the crime Uhrig’s client is accused of carries a possible life sentence, a charge of tampering with a witness in the case can also lead to life in prison under Florida law.
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This article appears in Oct 13-19, 2021.