A teenager from Florida has pleaded guilty to a number of crimes against an elderly woman that authorities have described as "unimaginable".
The 14-year-old has reportedly entered a guilty plea. Credit: Marion County Sheriff's OfficeJesse Stone, 14, was arrested back in June following a disturbing assault on a 91-year-old woman.
Court records via Law&Crime show that Stone was arrested and charged with sexual assault by someone under 18 toward a victim over the age of 12 and burglary of a dwelling with battery.
Despite initially entering a plea of not guilty, the teenager has reportedly changed his plea to guilty as of last week, per the New York Post.
Per the Marion County Sheriff's Office, the alleged crimes took place on June 9, 2024. The 91-year-old victim told authorities that she was woken up to "find a person sneaking through her home".
"In a cruel act of violence, she was beaten and sexually battered by the suspect," the Sheriff's Office revealed in their statement. The victim adds that her aggressor "pounced" on her and repeatedly punched her in the face, per court records via Click Orlando.
Fortunately, forensic investigators were able to identify Stone through DNA evidence.
Court records also show that Stone had approached investigating detectives to inform them that a nearby neighbor had captured surveillance footage, allegedly depicting a "figure" near the victim's house.
At the time, Stone denied he was the person in the video, but detectives became suspicious as the figure in the video shared a similar physique to Stone and was wearing clothes resembling those belonging to the teen.
"During an interview with Detective Caitlin Hartigan, Jesse Stone admitted to unlawfully entering the victim’s home, striking the victim, and then sexually battering her," the Sheriff's Office added in its statement.
Documents add that the teenager claimed he had entered the victim's home in order to watch p*rnography on an iPad. He then carried out his attack.
Marion County Sheriff Woods said of the ordeal: "I’m very proud of the hard work that my detectives and forensics team have done on this case to bring about a quick closure.
"This type of unimaginable violence is still shocking to me after all of my years in law enforcement. The Reddick community has shown its resilience and support for us and their community through all of this. I also want to thank all of the citizens that sent in tips and leads in this case."
Woods continued: "It came as a shock that any individual would commit such an act on a 91-year-old, but it is truly disturbing when we see the young age of the arrestee. Although I firmly believe he should be held accountable for his crime, as a father, my compassion goes out to his family. Hopefully his arrest will lead to getting him help that prevents any further such acts."
Click Orlando reports that the state attorney's office are attempting to charge the 14-year-old as an adult.
Stone's sentencing hearing is currently set to take place on December 19 - just days before his 15th birthday.
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