[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 11/05/19]
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UMATILLA, Florida – a 24-year-old man is facing a sexual battery charge, a capital felony, after a juvenile disclosed he raped her in 2016. She told police that “rape” means the “s” word, which she clarified as meaning “s-e-x.”
In September, a juvenile female told her school guidance counselor that someone had been sexually touching her on top of her clothes multiple times a day. The most recent incident occurred the day before she told, according to the arrest affidavit. She also disclosed Austin James King sexually battered her in 2016 when she was less than 12 years old. Due to the arrest report being heavily redacted to protect the victim, it is unclear if King was the same person who was touching the victim over her clothes.
The victim was interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center and was qualified to be able to distinguish the truth from a lie, and was very detailed in her description of the rape, according to police. (Lake Legal News is not including the details of the allegations, as they may identify the victim.) A Lake County Sheriff’s detective interviewed King, who denied the allegations.
King was arrested and is being held at the Lake County Jail on no bond.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. In addition, she has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
