Orlando FL area attorney disbarred after child porn conviction

What was on Clermont attorney Basil von Lashley’s laptop cost him, in chronological order, his marriage, his freedom and his livelihood.

Taking the last part first, Lashley’s Jan. 20 disbarment by the state Supreme Court was on the Florida Bar’s monthly discipline report released last week.

As for the laptop and the reason for Lashley’s disbarment, the computer had a video and seven photos of children being sexually abused. Florida Department of Law Enforcement Cyber Crimes Task Force agent William Nuzzi led a group that hit Lashley’s Orlando metropolitan area home with a search warrant on Sept. 19, 2019 and found the laptop.

The video, the arrest affidavit said, was of a girl about 5 years old forced into fellatio on a man. The photos showed girls from approximately age 8 to 13 posed to expose their genitals. That’s the eight counts of possession of child pornography of which he was charged.

Lashley’s wife filed for divorce 11 days after his arrest. Lashley remained in Lake County jail for 714 days, pleaded no contest, was sentenced to eight, concurrent four-year sentences last Aug. 23 and moved to state prison on Sept. 9.