Clermont man in jail on rape and battery charges
MILLARD K. IVES
CLERMONT -- A 44-year-old man is in jail on a number of assault and battery charges after being accused of beating and raping an acquaintance.
He allegedly told her he was sent by God to take her out as he beat her and at one point tried to suffocate her with a pillow.
Jonathan England Libby, of Clermont, was charged Tuesday with sexual battery, felony battery, aggravated assault and false imprisonment.
He is being held in the Lake County jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the victim told investigators she asked Libby to leave her Clermont home on Jan. 25 after the two had argued. But she awoke early the next morning to find him standing over her bed and calling her a number of demeaning names. The affidavit added the woman said when she began to argue back, Libby started to punch her in the head and said he was sent by God to take her out and she had no soul.
The woman told investigators he then placed a pillow over her head and tried to suffocate her -- and she said she likely blacked out during this time because she woke up in a different part of the home, feeling numb and disoriented.
During the next six hours, the woman said Libby raped and continued to beat her, threatened to slit her throat with a piece of glass and said he would inject her with enough narcotics to cause an overdose.
He also threatened to Duct-Tape her, wrap her body in a sheet and dump her at Cocoa Beach.
The suspect fell asleep but left sometime after the victim's mother arrived. The mother noticed her daughter had bruises on her face and was having difficulty moving.
The mother took the woman to the hospital and the incident was reported to law enforcement.