1 more arrest in videotaped attack on woman on Florida beach

Author: Associated Press
Published:
MGN

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) – A third man has been charged with participating in a spring-break sexual assault on a woman on a Florida Panhandle beach that was captured on a cellphone video, authorities said Tuesday.

George Davon Kennedy, 21, was arrested Tuesday in DeKalb County, Georgia, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office reported. The Middle Tennessee State University student is charged with principal to sexual battery by multiple perpetrators.

Investigators in Florida learned that Kennedy has family in Georgia and contacted authorities there. Deputies in DeKalb County just east of Atlanta made the arrest. A Middle Tennessee State University spokesman confirmed that a George Davon Kennedy is a student but said officials hadn’t been notified of any arrest.

Delonte Martistee, 22, and Ryan Calhoun, 23, were arrested and charged with sexual assault last week. Both men are students at Troy University in Alabama but were suspended after their arrests. Court records do not list attorneys for either man.

Kennedy was being held without bond. Jail records didn’t list an attorney.

The video shows several men assaulting an incapacitated woman on Panama City Beach while a crowd of spring-break revelers watches, the sheriff’s office reported. The victim told authorities she thought she had been drugged and didn’t remember the incident well enough to report it.

Authorities have released few details of the assault, which they say happened sometime between March 10 and March 12 but was only recently uncovered while Troy University police were investigating a shooting.

The Bay County Sheriff’s Office released a short video of the crowd they said was present at the time. The recording shows a seemingly normal day at the beach for dozens of bikini-clad spring breakers goofing off and standing around talking about Instagram. At one point, a few people cheer, but it’s unclear why.

The sexual assault serves as another black mark against Panama City Beach’s spring break festivities following an unrelated March 28 shooting that injured seven people at a beach house party. Officials have cracked down on underage drinking and increased the presence of law enforcement because of the violence.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.