POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – A Polk County man has been convicted on charges of kidnapping and sexually battery with force on a teenage girl and has been sentenced to life in prison.
According to Lakeland Ledger, the six-member jury deliberated less than two hours before convicting Travis Burton, 31.
The sheriff’s office arrested 30-year-old Travis Burton back in 2017 in Haines City. The department says Burton was waiting for the girl at an empty home in Davenport early Saturday morning. Burton then told deputies he had contacted her online and arranged to meet, and agreed to pay her $300 for sex.
Soon after she arrived, deputies say Burton punched her multiple times in the face. Arrest affidavits say he then tied her up with tape, cut off her underwear and sexually battered her four times.
The teenage girl told deputies Burton also put a knife to her throat and attached a dog leash to her neck.
“I’m not convinced at all that we weren’t going to have a murder had it not been for our deputies,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. “It’s just by the grace of God she’s not dead right now.”
Deputies tell WFLA the teenage girl’s pimp, Miguel “Angel” Ramirez, called police worried when she didn’t come home. Authorities then found the truck with the girl inside. Burton had run from the scene but he was later found.
According to the sheriff’s office, Burton told them he got into a disagreement with the girl over the money he agreed to pay her for sex. He told deputies it “got a little rough” when she refused to leave.
The sheriff’s office says he has a lengthy criminal history including burglary, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery, vehicle theft and battery on law enforcement.
