ORLANDO, Fla. — The civil case against suspended Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill is essentially closed.
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On Friday, a judge ordered Hill to stay away from the elderly constituent she’s accused of exploiting.
That same woman is the victim in a criminal case against Hill.
She was arrested late last month after an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Regina Hill walked into court Friday, relying on faith and due process for her civil suit to go her way. But besides that -- she didn’t say much else.
The judge denied her request to throw out the case between her and a 96-year-old constituent. Hill is now ordered to stay away from that woman and her house where she’s accused of living and spending about 100,000 dollars of the woman’s money. Hill is wholly denying ever happened.
“I improved Ms. Curtis’ life and I love her,” said Hill, Friday. “I showed her a lot of love and attention and that’s all I can say.”
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Criminal defense attorney Mark Nejame said it will be a uphill battle for her to win the criminal case against her.
“I’ve represented enough public officials in my career, that the public doesn’t tolerate this and nor do judges,” said Nejame.
Hill is scheduled to be appear in court for April 16. A judge will read her seven felony charges, including elder exploitation. If she’s convicted, she’s facing life in prison. Nejame said, while not impossible, he doubts the likelihood of a plea deal in the case that would avoid some amount of time behind bars.
“Her choices are going to trial are going to be limited,” said Nejame. “There will (likely) be some sort of plea agreement but under the guidelines she’s looking at prison time.
At this time -- public records show she has not officially retained a lawyer for the criminal case. The lawyer Channel 9 saw at her first appearance was only for that hearing. Although, she still has time to lawyer up or obtain a public defender.
“Of course, there’s a presumption of innocence. But the reality of it is, if the allegations as we’ve heard are true, it shows that she’s really had a tremendous fall from grace,” said Nejame.
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In the meantime, Governor DeSantis issued temporarily stripped hill of her title this week.
“If she’s convicted then she’s out for good -- if not she can come back,” said DeSantis.
Even if she does accomplish that, winning another term could be difficult , but not impossible.
“This is a different time we’re living in we’ve got somebody who is running for president who has been indicted four times, and who has multiple charges and could be facing years in prison, and yet, he’s a real contender.
And the city has wasted no time setting up to find her replacement. While not official just yet, the tentative date for the special election is May 21.
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