Man accused of trying to rape 18-year-old at Orange County hotel let out of jail 6 days prior

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Investigators said a man tried to rape an 18-year-old in a hotel room just days after getting out of jail.

Investigators said Fredrick Howard attacked the victim about a week after he was released. They said he was let out after the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office did not file formal charges within 33 days of his carjacking arrest.

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State Attorney Monique Worrell said police failed to give her team contact information for the carjacking victim. But police said the victim in the carjacking case is homeless and did not have a current address or additional contact information to provide to the officers.

Worrell said her office has not been able to track him down, and she said without him their case is weak and legally they can’t hold Howard in jail. But she recognized Howard’s long criminal history and said they are working hard to try and keep him off the streets.

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“It’s important to note the difference between the law enforcement standard of probable cause versus the state attorney standard of beyond a reasonable doubt,” she said.

Worrell said the request for the victim’s contact information was made multiple times throughout May.

“On the 31st, the assistant state attorney reached out to law enforcement, again requesting contact information for the victim. On June 1, our investigations unit began trying to attempt to locate this victim and there were no results,” she said.

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On June 5, after Howard had spent 33 days behind bars, Worrell said her office could not file charges and Howard’s defense attorney filed a motion for his client to be released, which was granted.

Six days later, Howard, who has a long criminal history and spent 36 years in prison, was arrested again after Orange County deputies said he showed up at the Stayable Suites on Orange Blossom Trail and tried to rape an 18-year-old woman.

Orlando police provided the following statement following Worrell’s news conference discussing the case Thursday afternoon:

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“On May 4, 2023 at approximately 9:58 pm, officers responded to the area of West Amelia Street and North Westmoreland Drive in reference to a carjacking. As a result of their investigation, probable cause was established to charge the suspect, Fredrick B. Howard, with Carjacking with a Deadly Weapon. It should be noted that the victim in this case is homeless and did not have a current address or additional contact information to provide to the officers.

The case package for this incident was forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office with all of the information that was available to law enforcement, which included Howard’s date of birth and Florida Identification card information, to include his last known residential address. On June 1, 2023 at 3:28 pm, the primary officer received a tasking sheet from the State Attorney’s Office requesting the name, address, phone number and sworn written statement from the witness/victim. The officer provided the information that was known to law enforcement at the time from his Florida Identification card. At no time was this officer requested to assist in locating the witness/victim by the State Attorney’s Office or any of their investigators assigned to locate the victim.

It is disappointing that yet again, the investigative efforts of our agency are being unjustly scrutinized by the State Attorney.”

VIDEO: High-risk felony offender arrested for attempted rape at Orange County hotel A man identified by deputies as a high-risk felony offender accused of forcing his way into an Orange County hotel room and attempting to rape the teen inside. (Charles Frazier, WFTV.com/WFTV)

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