Julio Enrique Velazquez has been convicted of Sexual Battery Under Specified Circumstances and Kidnapping in a case involving a victim he attacked after offering her a ride home from a club in Lee County.
A jury returned the guilty verdict this afternoon following a four-day trial in Lee County. Assistant State Attorney Janesha Beckford and Assistant State Attorney, Erin Hughes, Assistant Lee County Circuit Court Chief, prosecuted the case.
In June 2023, the victim was leaving a club on Palm Beach Boulevard. The defendant offered the victim a ride home in his truck. The victim gave the defendant her address but as he was driving, she realized he was not driving in the direction of her home. The defendant told her he was taking her to “a beautiful place.” He started driving fast and pulled off the roadway to a secluded wooded area in North Fort Myers and told her to get out of the car. She saw a glass beer bottle in the car and grabbed it. She broke the bottle and warned the man to stay away and then began to run.
He caught her and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her to the ground. He then began punching her and raped her. She eventually was able to get away and ran to a house, knocking on the door for help. She was in visible distress when the resident, who didn’t know the woman, answered the door and called the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies arrived on scene and began an extensive neighborhood canvas, searching for the suspect. They also went to the club and used surveillance video to get more details on the suspect and the truck he was driving. Another deputy located the truck off of Ortiz Avenue and detained the defendant. The investigation led to the positive identification of the defendant as the perpetrator of the crime.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 16, 2025.
Samantha Syoen – State Attorney’s Office Communications Director