By Scott Brinton
Joseph Smith's trial is scheduled to begin in four months. The 37-year-old auto mechanic and known drug addict allegedly strangled Carlie and left her body at the back of Sarasota's Central Church of Christ.
"I'm going to be sitting in a courtroom with this guy," says Brucia, 40, who is a contractor. "I've never seen him face to face."
The Carlie Brucia case sparked a national media storm and an urgent outcry last year in Florida to better protect children. Little happened until a second child, 9-year-old Jessica Lundsford, was raped and killed this year in Florida. Now the state mandates a 25-year sentence for anyone convicted of sexually attacking a child younger than 12.
But Brucia believes the nation has a long way to go. He is working closely with New York State Assemblyman David McDonough, a Republican of North Merrick, in fighting to upgrade the state's Megan's Law. McDonough is among a growing chorus of legislators who want the 10-year-old measure upgraded. Specifically, he would like better notification when a convicted sex offender moves into a community. He also wants sexual predators civilly confined past their prison terms so they can get counseling in psychiatric facilities. And he would like the most dangerous offenders tracked with Global Positioning Systems.
Brucia was a featured speaker at a public hearing on Megan's Law that McDonough sponsored at the Merrick Firehouse last Wednesday.
He says the pain that he feels over his daughter's death will never end. He thinks about her constantly. In his Bellmore home, the walls are nearly barren, except for three large photographs of Carlie at different ages and a wall-size poster of Picasso's 1937 painting about the Spanish civil war, "Guernica."
Brucia and his wife had divorced, and Carlie lived much of the year with her mother in Florida. She spent summers with her father in Bellmore. Carlie was killed Feb. 1, 2004.
Brucia finds comfort in his family. His grandfather lives in a first-floor apartment in his home. Brucia occupies the second floor. His parents live in Wantagh.
He has received enormous support from the Sarasota community. The Church of Christ created a garden walk in Carlie's memory, and McIntosh Middle School, which she attended, built a butterfly garden to honor her.
Brucia also set up a charitable fund-raising foundation in Carlie's name. Money has gone to Florida's hurricane victims and the Red Cross.
Still, a question burns in Brucia's mind: If Carlie's alleged killer had served more prison time, would his daughter be alive today? Before Carlie's murder, Smith had been charged with crimes 13 times -- including kidnapping and false imprisonment -- and cited for an equal number of parole violations. In all, he could have been sentenced to 46 years in prison. Instead, he had served 13 months.
Brucia believes the system failed his daughter. "The country did get very involved with Carlie's case," he says. "There was a big outpouring there. It's more a problem with the criminal justice system. I don't think the government is acting for the people as it should. They're not living up to their end of the bargain."
Comments about this story? SBrinton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.
