Bradenton man sentenced after sexually assaulting girl, prosecutors say
A Bradenton man will spend the rest of his life in prison after prosecutors say he sexually assaulted a girl in her bedroom.
A Manatee County judge sentenced 44-year-old Martir Isaias Ventura-Fuentes after a jury found him guilty of sexual battery, court records show.
According to an arrest report, the victim told investigators she was asleep in her bed the day after Christmas in 2022, when she woke to Ventura-Fuentes sexually assaulting her. When she tried to push him away, detectives say he used his body weight to pin her down and continued the assault for several minutes.
The victim later went to her aunt’s home and reported what happened. She was taken to Manatee Memorial Hospital, where investigators collected DNA evidence, according to the report.
Ventura-Fuentes declined to speak with detectives without an attorney present, the report states.
Prosecutors relied heavily on forensic evidence from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. DNA collected from the victim strongly matched Ventura-Fuentes, according to investigators.
The three-day trial was presided over by Circuit Judge Teri K. Dees.
At sentencing in February, Dees designated Ventura-Fuentes a sexual predator under Florida law. In addition to the life sentence, Dees ordered him to pay more than $1,300 in costs and fees and submit a DNA sample to the state.
Court records show Ventura-Fuentes has filed an appeal, and the sexual battery case remains open as the appeal moves forward. He remains in custody, according to court records.
