MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A 14-year-old boy accused of sexually battering a 91-year-old woman in Marion County entered a not guilty plea in his latest hearing, according to court documents.
Jesse Stone entered a not guilty plea after waiving his Tuesday arraignment hearing.
According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the woman woke up around midnight on June 9 to someone sneaking through her home. She was then beaten and sexually battered, deputies said.
“The victim later explained that the day before the incident, a neighborhood youth named ‘Randy John’ (later identified as defendant Jesse Stone) came over to her house and talked with her,” an arrest affidavit reads. “She explained that it’s been a while since the defendant stopped by to talk with her, but when he was younger, he used to do it more often. She described the defendant as a ‘good’ boy but that she didn’t know anything about the other people he hangs out with.”
According to the sheriff’s office, Stone had approached detectives as they canvassed the area that day and told them a neighbor had “found something” on surveillance footage that the neighbor wanted the detectives to see.
Detectives reviewed the footage and discovered a “figure” — who appeared to look similar to Stone — jogging past the night prior, the affidavit states.
Stone initially denied that the figure was him, though DNA evidence indicated his involvement in the attack.
During an interview with detectives, Stone said admitted to entering the woman’s home to watch pornography before going into her bedroom and attacking her,
He faces charges of sexual battery and burglary.
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