MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Detectives say a man accused of sexually battering two women in Marion County has been charged in a third case.
Dionne Southall, 30, faces a new count of sexual battery with use of physical force, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday.
Southall was initially jailed on Nov. 5 after investigators said they linked him to two separate incidents of sexual violence that occurred earlier this year. Those charges included battery by strangulation and two counts of sexual battery with use of a deadly weapon.
In the latest reported case, MCSO said the victim came forward after she saw the department’s Facebook post last month regarding Southall’s arrest.
Detectives said she told them that Southall contacted her back in 2021 through social media and they arranged to meet for sex.
Sheriff’s investigators said Southall took the victim to a vacant home that was under construction, but during that meeting, the victim decided she didn’t want to participate and tried to leave.
She said although Southall tried to lock the door, she was able to escape the home.
But investigators said Southall followed the victim and began to strangle her, before dragging her into a wooded area along 165th Mulberry Lane in Lady Lake. They said Southall then raped her.
She was able to finally get away when Southall briefly stopped the assault, investigators said. “Based on the victim’s testimony, detectives responded to the area where the rape occurred and corroborated the incident location with her recollection of the assault,” sheriff’s officials said.
Detectives said they interviewed Southall on Wednesday at the Marion County Jail. They said while he denied knowing the victim, he provided evidence to support her statements. “He told detectives that he was living in the area at the time of the incident, he has a history of meeting women on Facebook for sex, and confirmed that he was the person in the photos the victim received,” investigators said.
The two other incidents that Southall faces charges for happened on May 25 and July 13, MCSO investigators said.
Southall remains in the Marion County Jail with without bond.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.