Office of the State Attorney

PRESS RELEASE

March 21, 2024     

 

State of Florida v. Donald Ray Willett, Jr.

                                                                       

DOB: 07/19/1984

Case Number: 2021-0358-CF

 

Putnam County Man Convicted of 10 Counts of Child Sex Crimes, Including Three Counts of Capital Sexual Battery

PALATKA – After a four-day trial last week, a Putnam County jury of three men and three women deliberated for less than an hour and a half and found defendant Donald Willett Jr. guilty as charged of three counts of Sexual Battery on person less than 12 years of age, two counts of Lewd/Lascivious Molestation on person less than 12 years of age, Lewd/Lascivious Exhibition on person less than 16 years of age and four counts of Sex Battery on person 12 to 18 years of age by a person in a familial or custodial authority. The defendant now faces a mandatory life in prison sentence for the crimes.

Willett Jr. subjected his young stepdaughter to nine agonizing years of repeated emotional torment and physical sexual abuse. The bravery of this young victim to finally come forward was nothing less than courageous.

“Many children endure sexual abuse silently, while their abuser repeatedly rapes them physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually," State Attorney R.J. Larizza said about the case. "Our victim suffered unspeakable acts for almost a decade before making the profoundly courageous decision to report the defendant to the authorities. It turned out to be more than she could bear – she took her own life to end the suffering she carried from the countless episodes of abuse. Parents, protect your children – never assume it could not happen to your family. At least the defendant will never rape another child and he will die in a Florida prison.”

The case was investigated by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. Assistant State Attorneys Deb Rothenberg and Jennifer Lieb successfully tried the case for the state. The Honorable Alicia Washington presided over the case and will pronounce sentence on April 26, 2024, at 9:00 a.m.

 

For more information contact: 

Bryan Shorstein | Executive Director/PIO | Office of State Attorney R.J. Larizza, Florida's Seventh Judicial Circuit | SAOPIO@SAO7.org