Teen boy who assaulted 91-year-old woman sentenced to 25 years in prison

A Florida teenage boy who carried out a violent sexual assault on a 91-year-old woman has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Jesse Stone was just 14 when he committed the assault. Now 15, he was given credit for 237 days already served. Once released, he will remain under strict supervision, serving 30 years on sex offender probation.

Marion County prosecutors said Jesse Stone broke into a 91-year-old woman’s home while she slept and violently sexually assaulted her. Surveillance footage later captured detectives confronting him with DNA evidence from the scene. Facing overwhelming proof, Stone pleaded guilty as an adult to one count each of sexual assault by a minor on a victim over 12 and burglary with battery.

The state emphasized the brutality of the attack during his sentencing on Friday afternoon. Prosecutor Katrina Self also pointed out the deep betrayal, noting that the elderly woman had always been kind to Stone.

“This was a woman that only ever showed him loving kindness throughout his time living in the neighborhood with her,” Self said. She added that the victim had even considered Stone a close friend.

Prosecutor Katrina Self described how Stone deliberately covered the woman’s face with a pillow during the attack, preventing her from seeing him and putting her at risk of suffocation. Even when she fought back, he continued to restrain her. The state argued that his actions were not impulsive but intentional.

“This was not him simply panicking,” Self stated, emphasizing that Stone made conscious choices throughout the assault.

Before handing down the sentence, Judge Lisa Herndon condemned the severity of the crime. “His actions are egregious, and the victim in this case is lucky to be alive under these circumstances,” she said.

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Defense attorney Jonathan Mills focused on Stone’s young age and clean criminal record, arguing that at 15, his brain was still far from fully developed.

“He was nowhere near fully mature when this incident happened,” Mills stated.

Describing Stone as a troubled teenager struggling with “porn addiction” and the absence of a father figure, Mills insisted that his client felt genuine remorse. He also pointed to Stone’s strong academic performance as evidence that he could respond well to rehabilitation and sex offender treatment.