TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A Tallahassee man is behind bars after police say he is being accused of sexually battering a woman while she was sleeping.
According to court documents, a victim came into the Tallahassee Police Department to report a sexual battery on July 21.
The victim told police that she had been sexually assaulted by 29-year-old Heath Blackburn on July 20.
Police say the victim was asleep during the incident and woke up to Blackburn inappropriately touching her.
The victim went on to explain to police that she also woke up to being completely exposed with her clothes unbuttoned and unzipped.
Police say during the investigation, Blackburn later showed up to the victim's location and asked to speak with her so he could apologize for what he had done.
The victim said she refused to see him and later received messages from one of Blackburn's family members asking her to hold off on the investigation.
While investigating, police discovered that Blackburn has a prior history of sexual harassment and domestic violence cases.
Police say they reached out to Blackburn to get his account of the incident, but he refused to provide officers with a statement.
Later during the investigation, police manged to collect a search warrant for Blackburn's DNA.
On August 2, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement request for analysis was sent to compare Blackburn's DNA with the DNA from the victim's clothing she had on during the time of the assault.
Based on the evidence, police found probable cause to arrest Blackburn for the sexual assault that occurred on July 20.
Blackburn was transported to the Leon County Detention Facility on Tuesday and is being charged with sexual battery.
He is being held in Jail without bond.
