Robert Bryant Jr.

Jury deliberates 20 minutes before convicting man of sexual battery

 

Robert Bryant Jr.

Robert Bryant Jr.

A jury took 20 minutes Wednesday to convict a 39-year-old Lakeland man of raping a 20-year-old woman at a Lakeland home in 2016.

 

Robert Ray Bryant Jr., now 42, faces up to 30 years in prison following the conviction of sexual battery on a physically helpless person. Circuit Judge Michael McDaniel is scheduled to sentence Bryant on April 17.

Assistant State Attorney Josephine Colon prosecuted the case.

Bryant raped the victim while she was asleep on a couch after the victim, Bryant, and other family members returned home from a party.

Colon told jurors that the victim woke up with Bryant on top of her. The victim yelled, then rushed to a family member’s room to tell them what had occurred.

The victim’s mother drove her to the hospital where an exam was conducted. Investigators were called to the hospital, charges were filed and a warrant was issued for Bryant’s arrest.

Bryant denied the charges, claiming that the action was consensual.

State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney Colon and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for their work on the case.

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