Bradenton man charged with raping girl

More than a year after a 21-year-old Bradenton man was accused of raping a girl, he was taken into custody on Monday, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies say Willis Bailey lied about his age to the victim in order to see her. Once he got her alone, he told the victim, “I do what I want,” and sexually assaulted her, according to the arrest warrant.

The victim’s age was not disclosed in the warrant.

Law enforcement began investigating the accusation in June of 2019. A phone call between the victim and Bailey was monitored by law enforcement a few weeks later. The victim recounted the incident, accusing Bailey of raping her, to which he said, “Yeah, if you want to call it that,” according to the warrant.

Detectives interviewed Bailey, who said he lied about his age because he was “nervous” about the victim’s age. According to the warrant, Bailey denied ever talking to the victim about the incident on the monitored phone call until presented with the recording.

At that time, Bailey said he was just trying to get the victim off the phone and agreed with her that it was rape to end the conversation, according to the report.

Bailey said the victim was being “ridiculous.” He denied raping the girl but admitted to a sexual encounter he said was consensual, according to the warrant

Bailey was arrested on the warrant on Monday. He was booked into the Manatee County jail on one count of sexual battery on a minor and remains in custody on a $100,000 bond.