Bradenton man accused of sexually battering missing 15-year-old, deputies say
A Bradenton man faces multiple felony charges after investigators say he sexually battered a 15-year-old girl who had been reported missing from Sarasota County.
Charles Ray Dawson, 35, faces three counts of lewd or lascivious battery involving a victim between 12 and 16, second-degree felonies, according to court records. If convicted on each count, he could face up to 45 years in prison under Florida law.
An attorney representing Dawson did not immediately respond to the Bradenton Herald’s request for comment.
Deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office located the girl in February after she had previously been reported missing from Sarasota County, according to an arrest report.
During the investigation, the girl told deputies she stayed at Dawson’s apartment in the 700 block of 28th Avenue East in Bradenton for about three nights, according to the arrest report. She said Dawson sexually abused her on multiple occasions after providing her alcohol that altered her mental state, investigators wrote in the report.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Dawson’s apartment and later detained him outside the home, according to the arrest report. During an interview with detectives, Dawson admitted he had a sexual relationship with the girl, the report states.
Bradenton man accused of sexual abusing teen, deputies say
Dawson told investigators he met the girl at a Bradenton laundroma late last year. He said she told him she was 23 years old and identified herself with a fake name, according to the report.
Dawson told detectives he began to doubt her age about three weeks before deputies located the girl but continued the relationship, the report states.
Under Florida law, a victim’s misrepresentation of age or a defendant’s lack of knowledge of a victim’s age is not a legal defense to the charge of lewd or lascivious battery, which investigators noted in the report.
Detectives arrested Dawson and booked him into the Manatee County Jail, where he remains in custody after Circuit Judge D. Ryan Felix denied Dawson’s motion to reduce his bond during a February hearing, records show.
As a condition of any potential release, the Felix ordered Dawson to have no contact with the victim and to stay at least 500 feet away from her home, school and place of employment, court records show.
Dawson pleaded not guilty and demanded a jury trial, according to court records. He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 27 at the Manatee County Judicial Center.
