Panama City Beach man convicted of child sexual battery, molestation faces life in prison
PANAMA CITY — A 53-year-old Panama City Beach man is facing life in prison after being convicted of sexual battery and molesting a child.
Jurors deliberated less than an hour Tuesday before finding Rene Elmer Rivas guilty of sexual battery on a person less than 12 years of age and lewd or lascivious molestation, according to a news release from the State Attorney's Office.
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Bay County court records show the incidents occurred in 2013 and 2014.
The victim told jurors that she was 7 years old when the molestation started and that she was too frightened and embarrassed to report it, according to the State Attorney's Office.
It wasn't until she was in church when "something 'triggered' the victim and she began crying uncontrollably," that someone at the church encouraged her to come forward, the release said.
Her mother contacted authorities and the resulting investigation by Bay County Sheriff's Office deputies and the Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center ended in the charges. Rivas was arrested in November 2018.
Rivas was arrested in November 2018. He is scheduled for sentencing before Circuit Court Judge Timothy Register on July 15.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Rene Elmer Rivas found guilty child sexual battery, molestation
