Former Hernando surgeon gets prison for probation violation

BROOKSVILLE — A former Spring Hill orthopedic surgeon was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for failing to comply with sex offender reporting requirements.

Adrian I. Medina, 50, was arrested in January after investigators learned he had been staying with his girlfriend in Tampa and not at his permanent address in Brooksville. Medina pleaded guilty last month.

Medina took the stand Thursday and said he didn't know he had to submit temporary addresses to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement because he did not thoroughly read probation documents. "I'm truly sorry," he said. "I'm very detail-oriented. I know now and will make sure it never happens again."

Sentencing guidelines called for a prison term of five to 10 years. Medina's attorney, Mark Rodriguez, asked Circuit Judge Daniel B. Merritt Jr. to extend Medina's probation. Rodriguez said Merritt could legally depart from those guidelines because the offense was isolated and unsophisticated and Medina was remorseful. Rodriguez said Medina, who recently bought a home in Bradenton, had no other violations during eight years of probation.

Assistant State Attorney Erin Daly asked for six years in prison. Daly said Medina committed the offense in a "deceptive and sneaky way" because he didn't want his girlfriend's neighbors to find out he was a sex offender.

Merritt agreed.

"I find … that he is not as ignorant as he claims," the judge said.

Medina pleaded guilty in Orange County in 2004 to having sexual contact with a 16-year-old patient and sending her pornographic images via email. He served a year in jail and his medical license was revoked.