The defense attorney who represented George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case has been arrested after being accused of witness tampering in a juvenile rape case.

According to ABC News, Hal Uhrig was detained on Monday (Oct. 18) on charges of solicitation to commit perjury and witness tampering. During a press conference, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos López said Uhrig, who represents a man accused of raping a 9-year-old child, arranged a meeting with the victim, her father and his client. “The point of the meeting was to keep the rapist from going to jail,” López said.

“The attorney instructed the victim and her father that they should do three things,” the sheriff added. “Write a declination, basically a letter, to the state attorney saying the rape didn’t happen; avoid being served with a subpoena so you don’t have to go to court to testify; (and) lie during your deposition and say the rape didn’t happen.”

The victim’s family told the state attorney’s office about the forthcoming gathering and the sheriff’s sex crimes unit launched an investigation into the matter. The child’s father met with Uhrig while wearing a recording device. The lawyer reportedly asked the victim’s dad to read a script that was his client’s defense of the rape charge.

Uhrig has denied the allegations, telling Fox-35 that he is “not guilty of this” and that he will “sort out what happened.” He has since bonded out of jail and is slated to make a court appearance on Tuesday (Oct. 19).

“If you’re an attorney you’ve been practicing law for a long time and there’s no way you’re going to jeopardize your career on something like this, especially at that age, it’s retirement time,” López said. “So, I think that this wasn’t his first rodeo. Unless someone else comes forward we won’t know that, but that’s what I suspect at this time.”