Local

Prosecution focuses on time frames in Leesburg officer's rape trial

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Several Leesburg police officers and investigators from the Sheriff's Office testified in the case of a former Leesburg officer who was arrested on charges of sexually battering a woman on the way to jail.

On Tuesday, the victim took the stand as the prosecution's first witness and told jurors about the night she claims she was forced into performing sex acts after being arrested by Henri Bart Larue.

On Wednesday, prosecutors showed the jury surveillance video, which they said proves the victim's claims, though the video did not capture the alleged encounter.

Prosecutors are focusing the case around time, including at what time the victim was arrested, when she was escorted out of the police station, the moment she arrived at the Lake County Jail and the 22 minutes in between.

That, prosecutors said, proves Larue had time to rape the woman along the way.

Prosecutors said Larue's transport took double the amount of time it should have, but his defense on Wednesday had the opportunity to crack away at that theory.

A police officer in charge of pulling Larue's access times at the department and the surveillance video testified the timestamps on their surveillance was actually off by 12 minutes and that investigators later had to sync it up.

The defense also showed the officer in charge of handling those critical records isn't certified on operating those systems and couldn't answer many questions about how they work.

Larue has pleaded not guilty and throughout the trial, his wife and family have been there to support him.

Previous Stories: