Press Release
The Office of State Attorney Larry Basford announces that on June 18, 2021, a Bay County jury deliberated for 25 minutes before finding Michael Vincent Fogarty guilty as charged of Sexual Battery on a Helpless Person.
The testimony and evidence presented at trial proved that the victim was found by her fiancé unconscious with her clothes askew in the early morning hours of April 1, 2017. After being rushed to the ER, a sexual assault exam was performed with the victims consent. The DNA swabs collected from the victim came back implicating the Defendant with the sexual battery, at which time he was charged when the crime.
The case was investigated by Cpl. Preston Allyn and the Panama City Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Nicole Reed and Lynelle Dowe. The Defendant faces up to 30 years in the department of corrections, and is scheduled for sentencing July 23rd before the Honorable Judge Dustin Stephenson.
For additional information, contact State Attorney Larry Basford.