[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 06/11/20]
UMATILLA, Florida — A Umatilla man is being held in the Lake County Jail after being accused of sexual battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Robert Eugene Holt, 25, was picked up on a warrant Monday stemming from an incident in May, according to an arrest affidavit. The male juvenile victim told a Lake County Sheriff’s Office detective he had been staying with Holt, and on May 30, after the victim got out of the shower, Holt allegedly grabbed him by the shoulders and sodomized him. He told the detective it hurt badly and put him in tears, according to the affidavit. After the incident, Holt pushed the victim out of his trailer and called the victim’s father to come pick him up.
During a forensic interview, a few days after the alleged rape, the victim said Holt bought a bottle of vodka and kept forcing him to drink it and even though he did not want to, he drank two cups mixed with orange juice. He again said Holt sodomized him and he screamed loudly because it hurt badly and put him in tears; he said Holt’s girlfriend walked into the bathroom while the victim was being sodomized and she laughed about it. He said Holt then pushed him out of the home and would not let him get his phone. He banged on the locked door and said Holt threatened his life and told him he was going to hurt him if he told anyone, according to a probable cause affidavit. Holt then called the victim’s father to pick him up.
The detective attempted to contact both Holt and his girlfriend and he was unsuccessful, according to the affidavit. A warrant was issued for Holt’s arrest on Friday and he was picked up Monday and taken to the Lake County Jail, where he remains on $11,000 bond.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. 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]
