ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — A Circuit Court judge sentenced a Florida man to 35 years in Florida’s Department of Corrections Thursday, March 9 on multiple charges in connection to a 2021 sexual battery, armed kidnapping case.

Billy Ray Smith Jr. was charged with Burglary with an Assault or Battery, Sexual Battery with a Weapon, Armed Kidnapping, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Grand Theft Auto, Theft of a Credit Card, Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card, Petit Theft, and Battery. He was found guilty on Jan. 12, 2023.

According to the release, Smith Jr. entered the victim’s home on Aug. 19, 2021 while she was sleeping. Smith Jr. “sexually battered” the victim, hit her in the head multiple times and duct taped her to a chair.

Smith Jr. then “ransacked the victim’s home” and left with her car and “personal belongings.”

The victim freed herself and ran to a neighbor to contact police.