Victim relieved after Bradenton fugitive convicted of raping her is arrested in Nebraska

MANATEE -- Shelby Booth said she would sleep like a baby Wednesday night.

She said she would sleep well knowing the man convicted of raping her more than three years ago, and who had been on the run for more than a month, had finally been apprehended.

Her mother broke the good news to her.

"I just started crying. I was just relieved and so happy," said Booth, who agreed to have her name published for this story. "I am just so grateful that he is not going to be able to do this to anyone else."

Robert Earl Williams, 40, failed to show up in court March 9 for the final day of his trial for the 2012 sexual battery charge, but a jury nonetheless convicted him of a lesser charge and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

Early Wednesday, the U.S. Marshals Service found Williams at a hotel in Omaha, Neb., and arrested him, according to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.

Williams is being held without bond at a jail in Omaha and will be transported back to Manatee County jail to be sentenced for the sexual battery conviction. He is facing a maximum of 15 years in prison.

He is still set to stand trial for a 2012 charge of sexual battery with a firearm. If convicted as charged, Williams would face life in prison.

"We are thankful to the U.S. marshals for their work in finding this dangerous fugitive, thankful that Williams will not be about to evade the justice he deserves and thankful that no other women will be subject to his victimization," said Assistant State Attorney Brian Chambers, who prosecuted Williams.

Booth, 24, who now struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and self-esteem issues for which she is seeking treatment, is looking forward to starting the next chapter of her life.

For a long time she didn't feel whole, she said. On Tuesday, that all changed.

"I just want people to know it's OK to speak up and to fight," Booth said. "It's worth it in the end to have the justice. It's worth it to feel like you are whole again."

On Dec. 3, 2012, Williams pulled his truck in front of then-21-year-old Booth, who was walking from 12th Street East onto 59th Avenue East. He offered her $50 for sex, but she declined.

Booth testified Williams got out of his truck, placed a hard object she thought was a gun against her back and ordered her to his truck. Once inside the car, she saw a black semi-automatic pistol.

Williams then drove to an industrial area near 63rd Avenue East and 17th Street East where she was raped, she testified, then allowed to put her clothes back on and pushed out of the truck.

Williams was arrested in April 2013 and charged with sexual battery with a firearm.

About a month after she was raped, Booth, who had already been getting in trouble, struggled to cope and her life spiraled out of control, she said.

"I went to jail right after it happened," she said.

While at the Manatee County jail, she spoke with a deputy who shared with her Williams' side of the story.

"It brought me down to tears," Booth said, getting upset as she spoke. "I felt they were going to believe him because I did hang with known prostitutes. It really broke my heart. Even my mother said she didn't believe me at first."

She became a different person then, she recalled.

"I lost my self-esteem, my dignity," said Booth, who now lives out of state.

She knew she didn't deserve to be raped, but was convinced by others she put herself in that situation.

Despite nearly giving up hope for fear no one believed her, Booth pushed for justice. Her mother began to help her to make sure Williams was prosecuted, she said.

Her boyfriend now has also been supportive.

"My boyfriend has been there ever since I went to court in Florida for the deposition, through the whole trial, he was there," Booth said. "My mom stayed in court with me the entire time, even after I testified."

Williams was also a suspect in a 2010 sexual battery case, but the victim died and he was never charged.

Jessica De Leon, Herald law enforcement reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7049. You can reach her on Twitter @JDeLeon1012.

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 11:47 PM with the headline "Victim relieved after Bradenton fugitive convicted of raping her is arrested in Nebraska ."