Lake County sheriff’s detectives have arrested a Leesburg man who they say burglarized the home of a senior citizen and committed sexual battery upon her during the night of July 20.
The investigation, which has been ongoing and conducted in conjunction with the Leesburg Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, led detectives to 46-year-old Anthony Maurice Foster of Leesburg.
At the time of the incident, the victim, who is in her 70’s, reported to deputies that she was awakened by an unknown male in her bedroom at approximately 11:30 p.m. The suspect then sexually battered her by forcing her to perform sex acts on him.
Since the incident, deputies have used profilers, conducted surveillance details, canvassed neighborhoods, and conducted saturation patrols in an effort to develop information on the suspect while keeping the community safe.
Recently, the sheriff’s office received information from a citizen that suggested Foster should be looked at due to some bizarre behavior on his part that concerned the citizen. Detectives then met with Foster, who lives at 6932 Fern Circle in Leesburg, and asked him to provide a DNA sample, to which he refused.
Detectives then collected DNA samples from family members and were able to use those samples to positively match Foster to the DNA collected from the July 20 incident.
As a result, Foster has also been matched to DNA in four other similar cases in the Leesburg Police Department’s jurisdiction, dating back to 2006. The Leesburg Police Department expects to add charges on these cases Monday and will likely clear several other similar cases in their jurisdiction.
Detectives say it is possible that there could be other victims of similar crimes who have not yet come forward. They are asking anyone who has had a similar experience, or would like to provide information regarding Foster, to call the sheriff’s office at (352) 343-2101.
Foster was arrested and taken into custody on the warrant this afternoon without incident. He has never been arrested up until this point.
