Sarasota man convicted of burglarizing, raping woman

SARASOTA -- A Sarasota man has been convicted of breaking into a deaf couple's home, robbing the wife at gunpoint and then raping her.

Herbert Earl Stilley III, 28, was found guilty by a jury Friday morning of sexual battery and robbery in connection with the February 2015 armed home invasion. A sentencing date has not been set.

"This conviction is a direct result of the diligent and thorough investigation conducted by Sarasota Police Department Detectives Kim Laster and Steve McDowell," police said in a news release.

Stilley was arrested in May 2015 by Sarasota police detectives and initially charged with armed home invasion and armed sexual battery after DNA evidence linked Stilley to the crimes.

At about 2 a.m. Feb. 10, 2015, the victim reported to police she had been the victim of an armed home invasion and armed sexual battery in her home.

The woman told detectives she was sitting inside her home while her husband had gone outside when Stilley came in, pointed a gun at her face and demanded her phone.

"Where is the money?" the victim said Stilley asked.

Although she and her husband are deaf, they can read lips.

For fear of her children's safety, who were asleep in nearby bedrooms, the woman took Stilley back to her bedroom and gave him her purse. Stilley then raped her.

Afterward, her husband ran him out of the house.

This story was originally published April 29, 2016 at 11:20 PM with the headline "Sarasota man convicted of burglarizing, raping woman ."