Daryl Penney

JURY VERDICT: Davenport man convicted of lewd molestation

When Daryl Penney’s victim asked that he stop touching her sexually, he responded, “I will try not to anymore.”

Daryl Penney

On a controlled phone call with law enforcement, the 15-year-old girl reminded Penney she said “no” and “stop” on multiple occasions. The girl asked him why he continued to touch her after she told him not to.

“I didn’t intend to,” Penney said. “I’m sorry you have to go through this.”

The jury deliberated for nearly two hours Tuesday before finding 32-year-old Penney guilty of lewd molestation. He is facing up to 15 years in prison and will be sentenced on November 19.

Assistant State Attorney Katie Ruel told jurors the sexual abuse began in January of 2017 and would happen every day – sometimes multiple times each day.

Ruel said the victim attempted to disclose the abuse to her mother but could not put it into words to tell her face-to face. So the girl wrote a letter – dated May 31, 2017 – and left it in her mother’s nightstand for her to find.

Around the middle of July, the victim realized her mother never received the letter. The girl then decided to write her mother a message detailing the abuse, and she sent it over Facebook.

The original, handwritten letter was later found stashed in Penney’s belongings in a garage.

Law enforcement questioned Penney regarding the allegations, and he admitted he was not perfect.

Detectives played the controlled phone call for Penney, and he denied touching the girl. But when one of the detectives asked Penney if the girl was lying about the allegations, he said he “would not call her a liar.”

Penney added he “would definitely try not to touch her inappropriately again.”

During trial, the defense claimed that both the mom and daughter had been working together to try to get Penney out of the picture and that these allegations were part of that plan.

But Ruel reminded the jury that the victim wrote and dated a letter nearly two months before the crime was reported, and the defendant himself took special measures to make sure it was not found.

Matthew Baist, 33, of Davenport.

SENTENCING UPDATE: Child rapist receives two life sentences

Matthew Baist stood motionless as Judge Abdoney handed down two consecutive life sentences Friday.

Matthew Baist, 33, of Davenport.

Following a jury trial Aug. 2, Baist was found guilty of sexual battery on a victim younger than 12 and sexual battery by a person with familial or custodial authority.

As a punishment for not finishing household chores, 33-year-old Baist raped his victim and beat her into submission when she tried to fight back.

The first assault took place a week before the victim’s twelfth birthday. When the girl tried to stop Baist’s advances, he hit her.

Baist continued punishing the victim by sexually assaulting her for about a month and a half.

When the victim found the courage to tell her aunt, she revealed that Baist had sex with her five times. The victim said the last time Baist forced himself on her, he choked her.

The doctor who examined the victim said her physical injuries were consistent with sexual abuse. DNA from a sexual assault kit was tested, and it was a match for Baist.

Baist initially denied being intimate with the girl, but after a series of controlled phone calls, he admitted to having sex with her.

Rolando Dejesus, 42, of Davenport.

JURY VERDICT: Davenport man guilty of lewd molestation

Rolando Dejesus admitted to forcing a 12-year-old girl to perform sexual acts on him.

Rolando Dejesus, 42, of Davenport.

It took less than 30 minutes Tuesday for a jury to convict Dejesus, 42, of lewd molestation. He is facing life in prison and will be sentenced on October 18.

Assistant State Attorney Mattie Tondreault told jurors that Dejesus’ abuse started when the girl was 7.

The victim needed help with a school project and asked Dejesus for assistance. Dejesus said he would help the girl, but only if she performed oral sex on him.

Dejesus continued to subject the girl to sexual acts and convinced her not to tell anyone what was happening.

The victim said she was “scared to tell” and did not disclose the sexual abuse until she was 12.

In an interview with law enforcement, Dejesus denied any wrongdoing. But as the interview progressed, Dejesus began to contradict himself until he finally admitted forcing the girl to perform oral sex.

During the trial, the defense argued that the victim initiated the encounter because she was a curious child.

But Tondreault reminded jurors of testimony from the victim’s mother: “She (the victim) was not a sexual kid … She was just a little girl.”

In closing arguments, Tondreault told jurors that young children do not know what oral sex is or how to do it.

“How would this child know exactly how it works?” Tondreault asked the jury. “Kids don’t know that unless they’re introduced to it or are shown how to do it.”

“Dejesus wasn’t supposed to do it, and he could have easily not done it,” she said, asking jurors to return a verdict of guilty.

Dameon Akins, 29, of Winter Haven.

JURY VERDICT: Winter Haven man guilty of threats to kill his ex, aggravated stalking

Dameon Akins was mad when his girlfriend broke up with him, so he hit her and threatened to kill her.

Dameon Akins, 29, of Winter Haven.

“Death is in the air,” Akins said in messages to the victim. “Wherever I see you, I hope God be with you.”

One of his video messages ended with 29-year-old Akins forming his hands into a gun and motioning as if he was firing shots.

After 30 minutes of deliberation, a jury convicted Akins Aug. 22 of written threats to kill and aggravated stalking. He is facing a minimum of 15 years in prison and will be sentenced Sept. 6.

Assistant State Attorney Aaron Henry walked jurors through the events leading up to Akins’ threats.

On May 12, 2017, the victim attempted to break up with Akins. Upon learning she planned to leave him, the victim testified that Akins battered her by hitting her in the head and clawing at her ears.

The victim asked Akins to leave her alone, but he kept contacting her, threatening to kill her and her family. She initially changed the locks to her home, but after receiving the video where Akins mimicked shooting her, the victim sent her three kids away, her mom moved her business out of the county, and her dad purchased a gun.

When Akins took the stand, he admitted to contacting the victim repeatedly after the victim asked him to stop.

But when Henry asked the defendant why he made videos threatening to kill the victim, Akins said he didn’t.

“I was just saying those things in the video to make myself Facebook famous,” Akins said from the witness stand, claiming it wasn’t a threat to any of the females he was dating.

After Henry replayed the video of Akins’ threats, the defendant conceded it was him in the video saying threatening things and pretending to hold and shoot a gun.

Assistant State Attorney Aaron Henry addresses jurors during closing arguments Aug. 22. Akins is facing up to 15 years in prison and will be sentenced Sept. 6.

During closing arguments, the defense claimed that the victim found out Akins was cheating, so she brought the charges to law enforcement because she was a scorned woman. He added that the threat was “about as credible as a trip to Mars.”

“She found out about the cheating in February, and she stayed,” Henry told jurors. “This is not a trip to Mars. This is about a scorned boyfriend who lived in the same county and made threats to her and her family … (the victim) broke up with him and was then hit by him. The threat was credible.”

Henry reminded jurors that Akins’ own mother testified that he drove a car with a gun and had access to the weapon.

“He (Akins) indicated he had access to it by making a gun gesture in the video … The victim believed the threats were real and had every reason to believe they were real,” Henry said.

“Clearly that’s his face in the video. He said that’s his face,” Henry told the jury in his closing arguments. “You only have one chance to do the right thing. Based on the evidence presented, you should find the defendant guilty of both counts, as charged in the information.”