Bradenton man found guilty of sexually abusing a 10-year-old
A Bradenton man is facing a maximum of two life sentences after being convicted of sexual assault of a minor, Twelfth Circuit state attorney Ed Brodsky’s office announced Thursday.
Kenny Livingston Roberts, 38, was found guilty Tuesday at the Manatee County Courthouse, according to court records.
The Herald previously reported in June 2020 that Roberts had allegedly began sexually abusing a child when she was 10 and continued the abuse over the next two years until she disclosed it to law enforcement officials.
According to the state attorney’s office, Roberts passed a sexually transmitted disease to the child and admitted to law enforcement to “engaging in sexual activity with the child.”
Roberts entered a plea of not guilty and a demand for a jury trial in June 2020. On Tuesday, he was found guilty on one count of sexual battery by a person 18 years of age or older upon a child less than 12 years of age, and one count of sexual battery upon a child 12 years of age or older but less than 18 years of age by a person in familial or custodial authority, court records said.
The minimum mandatory sentence for the first charge is life in prison, the state attorney’s office said in a news release.
“It took great courage for the victim to come forward, disclose the abuse, and face the defendant in court,” Assistant State Attorney Lauren Benson said in the release. “Our thoughts are with her as she continues to heal from this trauma.”
