Two Life sentences were given to a Panama City man found guilty Friday of using force, threats, and drugs to sexually batter a child repeatedly, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Christopher Adam Coatney, 34, of Panama City, was accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting the victim starting when she was 10 years old. Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark sentenced the defendant following the verdict. Jurors took just over an hour to find the defendant guilty of two counts of Sexual Battery on a Child Under the Age of 12.
Prosecutor Frank Sullivan told jurors the defendant victimized and terrorized the young girl, threatening to harm her if she ever disclosed the abuse.
“In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael this man repeatedly sexually abused the victim,” Sullivan said. “This defendant used force, the threat of violence, fear, and drugs to repeatedly victimize this little girl.”
The evidence showed that in addition to the force and threats, the defendant made the victim drink a meth-laced concoction before some of the attacks.
The attacks started after Hurricane Michael and continued into 2019, according to evidence gathered by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center. The victim was staying at another shelter for children in 2021 when she disclosed the abuse. An advocate there contacted the GCCAC.
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“This is a horrific case of abuse,” Sullivan said after the trial. “This child had to experience what no child should ever have to go through.
“But with this verdict she can begin to heal and move forward with her life.”
Basford thanked the GCCAC for its work and forensic interview of the victim, and the BCSO for its thorough investigation that helped lead to the guilty verdicts.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.