ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.,None — A woman is suing an Orange County bail bondsman who was arrested for sexually assaulting her. Eyewitness News spoke with the victim Monday (full interview) about why she wants to confront her attacker in civil court.
"He was very controlling, very demanding," she described.
The woman, who doesn't want to be identified, says bail bondsman Robert Burns raped her while threatening to throw her jail.
RAW INTERVIEW: Victim Talks To WFTV DOCUMENT: Lawsuit Complaint Filed By Victim READ (graphic): Arrest Affidavit For Robert Burns SLIDESHOW: Images Of Bondsman, Office
"Why would they do this to a woman? What do they have in their head to rape a woman? I mean ... they got to be sick, mentally sick," the victim said.
The victim's attorney filed a suit against Burns, who is currently out on bond and charged with rape. The suit, filed in Orange County (read complaint) , is not only against the accused bail bondsman; it also seeks damages from the bail bond agency that Robert Burns worked for.
The victim says her husband was waiting in the parking lot of Mike Snapp Bail Bonds, when she told him he had to leave to get the title to their car as collateral or else she'd be walked across the street and back into jail. She'd been arrested on a theft charge.
The bondman said he wanted $250 more or to make a deal involving sex. He then demanded sex and told her, if she didn't comply, she'd be arrested and brought back to jail despite her begging and telling him she had an infant to care for. Burns allegedly said that wasn't his problem, so he made her go to a back room, shut the door and sexually assaulted her.
"If I didn't give him money or something else, he was going to take me away from my family," she said.
Now the victim says she wants to send a message to other women who may have been victimized by Burns.
"If there are any women out there that have been assaulted by him ... come forward. Don't be scared, come forward," she said.
Detectives say Burns has been investigated for previous allegations before and they believe more victims may be out there.
No one at Michael Snapp Bail Bonds would comment on the lawsuit.
Previous Stories: January 21, 2010: Deputies: Bondsman Told Client "It's Either Sex Or Jail"