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Justin Evans convicted of rape, impersonating law enforcement officer
A jury has found defendant Justin Evans guilty of pretending to be a police officer and raping a woman he detained.
TAMPA, Fla. - The jury took two hours to hand down their guilty verdict earlier this month. Monday, Justin Evans – who was convicted of impersonating a police officer and raping a woman he detained – was expected to be sentenced, but his hearing has since been rescheduled.
The crime occurred in August 2021. Prosecutors said Evans used a fake police light to stop a car with three women inside in Tampa. He ordered the women out of their car to pat them down, then tied one woman's hands behind her back with a zip tie and told her she was under arrest.
The woman said he then put her in the backseat of his car, drove to a nearby apartment complex parking lot in Tampa, and sexually assaulted her. FOX 13 is not identifying her due to the nature of the charges.
"He told me I was under arrest because he found marijuana in the car," the witness stated. "He made me lay on my back, and he put his mouth everywhere."
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2021 coverage: Cop impersonator arrested for alleged rape
In August 2021, Hillsborough deputies arrested a man who they said raped a woman while impersonating a law enforcement officer.
FROM 2021: HCSO: Man impersonated officer to 'arrest' woman, then raped her
After the sexual assault, Evans ran out of gas and flagged down a driver who drove them to a gas station. During cross-examination, the victim said she feared for her life when she was asked why she didn’t run or try to get away.
She said she was scared that the unidentified driver was working with Evans after she told the man about being raped, but didn't believe her.
"My worst fear is that I take off running and somebody chases me down or tries to kill me, so I just stayed," she explained.
Later, Evans took the stand and denied he pretended to be a police officer, but prosecutors grilled Evans on the use of the zip ties, in what he tried to claim was a consensual encounter.
Justin Evans took the stand in his own defense.
His public defender David Hall questioned him.
"Do you order anybody to do anything?" Hall asked.
"No," replied Evans.
Hall asked a follow-up question.
"Did you tell anybody you're with law enforcement?" Hall inquired.
"Absolutely not," said Evans.
Evans even broke down when he describes the sexual encounter with the victim, claiming it was consensual after the two agreed to meet up to smoke marijuana.
He said, at one point, the woman asked for money in exchange for sex. He said they agreed to $200.
But prosecutors say there is no evidence money ever changed hands and the jury didn't buy it.
Bolstering the case against him was the testimony from a second woman who came forward after reading about the attack. It turned out, she too was pulled over and patted down by Evans while her 7-year-old child sat in her car. Evans let her go, but the incident was caught on surveillance video.
Justin Evans was caught on camera pulling over a second woman.
Ultimately, the jury didn't buy Evans' story and found him guilty on all four counts of impersonating a police officer, false imprisonment, and battery.
The sentencing hearing has been rescheduled January 12, 2023.