Please join Friends of Daniel in standing up for the constitutional rights of 11-year-old Daniel Marquez.
On May 28, 2022 Daniel, 10 years old at the time, was arrested at his Florida home by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, led by Carmine Marceno. Within three hours of the arrest, Marceno, who has a history of falsely and publicly accusing children in this way, posted Daniel’s name, mugshot, and a “perp walk” video publicly vilifying this young boy on the department’s Facebook page.
After his arrest, Daniel was incarcerated for nearly two weeks in juvenile detention, then placed under house arrest without any charges having been filed. Why did this happen? Daniel is an honor roll student; he was a Boy Scout; he has no history of behavioral problems. In short, he is a normal kid.
The Sheriff justified his actions based on private text messages Daniel had sent the previous day to a 10-year-old friend, which were inappropriate, but clearly intended as a joke. In the first text, Daniel wrote that he had “scammed” $1,000,000,000,000 from another child (Daniel described this as “a bazillion” dollars). In the recording of Daniel’s arrest, before he was put in handcuffs and taken from his family, you can hear the deputy laugh while reading Daniel’s text messages—because the arresting officer understood that 10-year-old Daniel was sharing a private joke with his 10-year-old friend.
This case is important because what happened to Daniel could happen to any of our kids. By standing up for Daniel’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process and free speech, we are standing up for the civil rights and liberties of all Americans.
As parents, many of us worry about what our children will say or do; especially young boys, who sometimes say and do the most absurd things. Kids make mistakes and it is our job to teach and discipline them—not to let elected officials demonize them, or destroy their future if they say something in a private conversation that is inappropriate or offensive. At age 10 children are, by definition, immature and lacking in judgment and understanding of how their words will be interpreted. This can be dangerous in the age of the internet and smart phones—where one mistake can follow a child for the rest of their lives.
Until the time of his arrest and public vilification by Sheriff Marceno, Daniel enjoyed the anonymity and privacy that our justice system typically protects in the interest of children. Now, his name, mug shot, and other images depicting him as the worst type of criminal have been circulated throughout the internet, along with patently false accusations against him. Those printed words and viral images will follow him forever.
This case has been a difficult ongoing struggle for Daniel and his family and right now is a pivotal moment. Since he is a juvenile Daniel was not eligible for a jury trial. On August 3, 2023, now 11-year-old Daniel Marquez appeared in the Lee County courthouse in Ft. Myers, Florida and was placed on probation for an undisclosed period of time.
The conditions imposed by the elected judge, who is reported to be a political ally of Marceno, are harsh and indefinite—meaning they could last until he is 18 years old. For now, Daniel is confined to his home from 6pm until 6am every day, and subject to other measures that are typically imposed on convicted felons like monthly drug tests. The net effect of the judge’s actions will be to turn Daniel into a pariah. They are not corrective; they are punitive.
Immediately, the clock started ticking on a narrow 30-day window for Daniel to file an appeal or the judge’s decision will stand. The experienced appellate attorney Daniel’s father wants to use has an excellent track record. He believes the path to winning is straightforward, and that justice will prevail—especially since the Appellate Court will not be in Lee County.
Time is short, and the leader of an organization that had promised to fund Daniel’s legal expenses informed his father earlier this week that they are not in a position to provide any additional support. In the next few days, Daniel needs to retain an attorney or he will lose his right to appeal.
What happened to Daniel could happen to any child. That is why a group of us organized this petition and fundraiser. 100% of donations will go toward supporting Daniel and funding his legal expenses. Learn more at FriendsofDaniel.org.
Thank you for your support and interest in Daniel's story.
With gratitude,
Friends of Daniel
