Convicted Sex Offender Charged With More Abuse

A sexual predator's abuse of a child continued for years after he was convicted, the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.

Jerald Gene Williams, 70, was convicted in 1989 of sexually assaulting a girl from the time she was 3 until she was 6. But the abuse actually continued until she was a teenager, detectives alleged Tuesday.

The victim, who is now an adult, recently contacted detectives to report that Williams sexually assaulted her until she was 14 years old. Williams had been sentenced to community control but was not prohibited from contact with the girl, authorities said.

Detectives recently monitored a conversation between the victim and Williams, during which he made "tacit admissions without denial" as the victim described the history of the sexual assaults, sheriff's office spokesperson Wendy Rose said.

Williams was taken into custody Tuesday and confessed to the crimes, Rose said. He was charged with sexual battery on a child and was being held without bond.

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