A jury in Sumter County Court has found a Wildwood man guilty of having sex with an underage teen at a town square in The Villages.
Nathan Duckworth Withers, 29, was found guilty Wednesday by the jury on a charge of unlawful sexual activity with a minor.
He was arrested in the case in 2019.
Employees at Cody’s Original Roadhouse at Brownwood became aware in that Withers had sex with the 17-year-old girl, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. The employees told their manager what had occurred and the manager contacted law enforcement. Withers was a former dishwasher at Cody’s at the time of the sexual activity.
The 17-year-old told police that she and Withers had sex twice and said it had occurred at Brownwood Paddock Square.
Withers admitted he had sexual intercourse with the girl and that he knew she was 17 at the time. He said he had sexual intercourse with her one time, not twice as she claimed. The Massachusetts native claimed the second incident was “heavy cuddling” without sexual intercourse.
In 2014, a case of “sex on the square” at Lake Sumter Landing generated headlines around the world. Both the man and woman were sentenced to six months in jail in that case.
