Man found guilty in 1st 'stinky rapist' case

The 43-year-old nurse's aide was in the front row as prosecutors made their final arguments against the man accused of raping her in August 2007.

But she huddled in the back of the courtroom as the two-women, four-man jury filed in with their verdict Wednesday.

Her tears started falling when the first guilty verdict was announced. The following two were greeted by hugs from her god sister.

Assistant State Attorney Rita Peters turned in her seat and gave the victim a big smile.

Afterward they met in the aisle and embraced.

"We did it," the victim said.

Peters responded, "I am so proud of you."

It took jurors an hour to find Jerrod Pass, 39, guilty of two counts of sexual battery and a count of armed burglary.

He faces up to three life sentences.

Circuit Judge Wayne S. Timmerman scheduled sentencing for Aug. 3 to give time for a pre-sentence report to be compiled for Pass.

The victim had little to say about the convictions.

"I just want so say thank you," she said.

Pass chose not to testify, and the defense presented no witnesses. He has been held without bond since his September 2007 arrest

During her jury summation, Peters hammered on testimony that Pass's DNA was found on three swabs taken from the victim immediately after the Aug. 18, 2007 attack.

"The DNA is certain, and the DNA is his," she said in her closing statement.

Peters also stressed that the victim's purse was found in Pass' storage unit.

Assistant Public Defender Jennifer Spradlley claimed the DNA evidence was tainted because the deputy who collected it left it in his car for a few hours.

She also said they arrested Pass before the test could be verified by additional tests.

"This case is a rush to judgment, trying to justify a premature arrest," she said.

Investigators said Pass is the serial "stinky rapist" who terrorized the area around the University of South Florida.

He is charged in 11 cases. The charges include eight sexual assaults, one attempted rape and two burglaries going back to 2003 and involving victims as young as 10. This week's case is the first to come to trial.

Authorities say the serial rapist stalked young black mothers and threatened to harm their children if they resisted or called for help.

The 'stinky' moniker was given by authorities because victims said their assailants had a foul odor.