Pasco man gets three life terms in 2007 rape

The evidence against Bobby Lee Black III was overwhelming.

The fact that his DNA was found on his 66-year-old rape victim may have been the most damning of all. In April, a jury needed only 45 minutes to find Black guilty of two counts of sexual battery and single counts of home invasion robbery and battery on a person over 65.

But not even all that could shake a mother's faith in God and in her son.

"I know my son is not going to get life even though you're going to sentence him to life here today, because I believe in God," Eunice Black said at her son's sentencing today. "I know in my heart my son is innocent of all this stuff."

Minutes later, Circuit Judge Pat Siracusa handed down the only sentence allowable for convictions on such serious charges: life in prison. In fact, Black was sentenced to three back-to-back life sentences.

The victim, who did not attend the hearing, testified at trial that two men broke into her Zephyrhills mobile home in the early morning of March 1, 2007. The woman said she awoke with one of the men straddling her and holding a knife to her throat.

They dragged her into the living room and took turns raping her, the woman testified. The men left with her camera, rosary beads and keys. As they left, one of the men kicked her in the face.

Investigators say the second man was Jathniel McMichael. McMichael, 20, will be tried separately and also faces a life sentence if found guilty.

John Laycock, a victim advocate with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, gave a statement on behalf of the victim, who now lives out of state.

"She is suffering terribly emotionally," he told Siracusa. "She also knows and recognizes that Mr. and Mrs. Black are suffering terribly, too, and she is saying a prayer for Bobby Black and his parents every day."

Black, 21, of Zephyrhills, and McMichael are also accused in a March 27, 2007, attack on a 68-year-old woman who lived alone in a Zephyrhills mobile home park.

Black was set to stand trial this month in that case, but the trial was postponed because the victim is recovering from a stroke.

The trial was rescheduled today to Jan. 25, although Assistant State Attorney Manny Garcia said the victim will not be available to testify.

It's possible the state might have to try Black without her testimony. It's also possible her testimony from Black's trial in the March 1, 2007, rape will be admitted as evidence. The issue will be decided at a later hearing.

McMichael also is awaiting trial in that case but does not face a rape charge.