A 2023 Florida statute that permits execution for the rape of a young child is headed toward its first serious courtroom test, in a Lake County prosecution built around a girl who recorded her own abuse.
Assistant State Attorney Shannon Schlarf is handling the case against Schubert Navarroza Macarat, 41, a Filipino American who has entered a not guilty plea to all counts. He is being held at the Lake County Detention Facility with no bond set, and WFTV reported that his trial has tentatively been placed on the September 2026 calendar.
The statute Florida prosecutors are invoking, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023, allows a death sentence for adults convicted of sexually battering a child younger than 12. Lawmakers wrote it knowing it sits at odds with existing federal precedent. A 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision held that capital punishment for child rape, in cases where the victim survived, amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Legal observers expect any death sentence returned under the Florida law to be appealed on constitutional grounds, and Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladson has said publicly that he considers this prosecution a suitable vehicle for challenging the 2008 ruling.
Gladson’s office filed its Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty citing Florida Statutes 794.011(2)(a) and 921.1425, pointing to the severity of the alleged conduct and the harm to the child.
“This kind of criminal depravity demands only one response from the State. Today, I filed Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty in the event the defendant is found guilty,” Gladson said.
He added: “We are seeking to prematurely end this defendant’s life because the crimes he committed are so heinous that no other punishment is fitting. In this state we protect our children, in this state we protect our vulnerable, in this state we have zero tolerance for child predators.”
The 47 felony counts returned by a Lake County grand jury include 12 charging sexual battery upon a child under 12, with the remainder tied to child sexual abuse material. Prosecutors believe the abuse extended over a period of at least three years.
The investigation opened on March 22, 2026, when Lake County deputies were called to a Leesburg residence by a caller reporting that a child had just disclosed prolonged abuse. Investigators interviewed the girl, who they said confirmed the account. Macarat was taken into custody the same night. WKMG News 6 reported that the child used her own cellphone to document what was happening to her, a step Gladson described as deliberate on her part.
A search of Macarat’s property produced a four-terabyte external hard drive holding more than 3,000 videos, of which investigators verified at least 700 as child sexual abuse material.
Under Florida procedure, a grand jury indictment is required before the state can pursue capital charges. Every count against Macarat remains an allegation, and he is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless a jury convicts.
