A man found guilty last month of sexually battering a woman who was unconscious from her prescribed medication was sentenced to 12 years in prison Tuesday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Circuit Court Judge Dustin Stephenson rejected Ray Aaron Linder’s request for a downward departure sentence, agreeing with Prosecutor Ryan Phillips that the sentence should be on the upper end of the 15-year maximum.
“I hope that you understand that decision have consequences,” Stephenson told the defendant. “Sexual battery is among those crimes that will have a lasting impact on the victim. There will be echoes of that night for the victim for perhaps the rest of her life.”
Prosecutor Ryan Phillips, with Prosecutor Christopher Walters assisting, called three witnesses at the Feb. 12 trial to prove the defendant engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim while she was “knocked out” from Ambien that had just been prescribed to her. He also took pictures, which the victim testified he later showed her when she confronted him about his actions.
“This defendant took advantage of a woman who he knew was heavily medicated from a medication prescribed to her for difficulty sleeping,” Phillips said after sentencing. “He admitted his actions to the victim but denied them in court and has not accepted responsibility for his actions or expressed remorse. Prison is the appropriate punishment for Mr. Linder.”
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In addition to the testimony from the victim and the Panama City Police Department officers on the case, Phillips introduced pictures and a short video pulled from the defendant’s phone that showed the victim partially undressed and sprawled in bed, and a picture depicting intercourse.
Basford thanked the Panama City Police Department for its work on the case and the victim for her testimony.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.