Florida lawyer arrested over alleged witness tampering in sex abuse case involving a minor

A lawyer in South Florida was arrested on Friday after she allegedly tampered with witness evidence in a sexual abuse case between a male teacher and female student.

Marcy Resnik turned herself into authorities on June 10 after a warrant was issued for her arrest. She was later booked on charges of tampering with or harassing a witness, victim, or informant, according to Tampa Bay 10.

Carlos Alberto Menendez, 48, a teacher at Broward County Public Schools, has been accused of allegedly sexually battering a female student between February and October of 2017. He was arrested on May 27 and booked into Broward County Jail on five charges of sexual battery on a victim over 12 and under 18 years old by familial or custodial authority, jail records show.

The student told police that she was between the ages of 15 and 17 when she was "forced" into an "ongoing sexual relationship" with Menendez, according to the arrest affidavit.

The student initially reported the allegations to authorities in December 2020 but decided not to pursue charges after Menendez's attorney arranged a meeting between the student and lawyer Marcy Resnik in an attempt to persuade the student to settle the case instead of pursuing charges, the outlet reports.

Court documents show that the student told investigators Menendez's attorney reached out to her and that victim tampering had occurred, which led to Resnik's arrest.

The arrest affidavit states that Resnik tried to persuade the student to take a settlement by telling her during conversation that the statute of limitations had passed.

She allegedly said things to the victim like, "You should just take the settlement because this is probably as good as [it's] going to get," and "It's going to be a long process with a trial if you decide to go back and do the prosecution, and you already backed out of it once, ...you don't look credible," and "What are the charges even for, because you understand that for statutory rape, [it's] out of the statute of limitations."

Resnik also allegedly told the student that speaking with authorities would break the agreement, the affidavit states.

On March 4, 2022, authorities issued a subpoena on Kahn and Resnik Law Firm, requesting copies of the contract. Court documents show that contract states that Khan and Resnik Law Firm charged the defendant's firm $24,750, according to the outlet.

Both Resnik and Menendez are in custody at Broward County Jail awaiting trial. A date has not yet been issued.