A 25-year-old man will spend the next 25 years in prison for the sexual battery of a 12-year-old girl. Brenson Stephens of St. Petersburg was convicted last week by a jury after a three-day trial. The victim lived in Sarasota County and the jury saw text messages from Stephens to his ex-girlfriend, the victim’s mother, where he admitted sexually abusing the girl. Stephens sexually abused her when she was home from school and her mother was at work. Following the guilty verdict, a judge sentenced Stephens to 25 years in prison followed by five years of sex offender probation.
