A young man from Jacksonville was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for raping a woman on the popular Seminole-Wekiva Trail last year — the result of a plea deal he agreed to, tried to back out of and then accepted just before sentencing.
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Patrick Gamache, 20, raped the woman on Aug. 18 while she was walking along the trail in Seminole County during her lunch break. Traveling on a rented electric scooter, he approached her from behind, wrestled her to the ground and dragged her off the trail to sexually batter her, prosecutors said in a Tuesday news release.
A man who worked nearby heard the woman’s screams, searched and saw Gamache on top of her. He called 911, causing Gamache to flee on foot and leave behind his e-bike and T-shirt, according to prosecutors.
Gamache pleaded no contest earlier Tuesday to sexual battery as part of a deal with prosecutors made March 25. But he had attempted to withdraw from the deal on April 7, claiming his court-appointed attorney forced him into the agreement involuntarily. His attorney then resigned as his counsel citing irreconcilable differences, court records show.
However, Gamache again reversed course just before the sentencing, deciding to continue with the plea deal.
The woman spoke at the sentencing, where she condemned Gamache for his “cowardly” actions and using her body like an object, according to the release. While the attack only lasted six minutes, she said, it has permanently altered the rest of her life.
“I am constantly and completely on edge, looking over my shoulder, jumping at the smallest noises, the smallest inkling of danger, wondering if it’s about to happen again,” she said. “I can only hope no other innocent woman has to suffer his cruelty and that he gets what he deserves.”
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The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office arrested Gamache less than 24 hours after the attack based on the woman’s description of her attacker and video captured by a traffic camera. He was found shirtless and shoeless on an Interstate 4 ramp, according to prosecutors. The woman then identified him as her assailant, his arrest report said.
Seminole Sheriff Dennis Lemma credited the woman with Gamache’s arrest in an August news release.
“I want to recognize the victim’s tremendous courage throughout this traumatic event,” Lemma said. “Her strength in recounting the details gave our detectives the critical information they needed to swiftly identify, locate and apprehend the suspect.”
Gamache admitted to the sexual battery and issued an apology to the woman during his questioning by deputies, his arrest report said. The recovered e-bike company’s rental data also showed he was its last user and its GPS location data showed his movements toward the scene of the sexual assault, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Gamache apologized again in court during his sentencing. He was also designated as a sexual predator.
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