Yesterday (July 26), a Brevard County Jury found Paul James NEWMAN (37) guilty on one felony count of Lewd or Lascivious Battery on a Child (F2), in connection to an incident at his Palm Bay home in September of 2019.  

 

After a five-day trial presided over by Circuit Judge Steve Henderson, with evidence presented by Assistant State Attorneys Francis DeMuro and Kari Kies, the jury deliberated approximately 90 minutes before returning with the guilty as charged verdict. Judge Henderson ordered NEWMAN into custody at the Brevard County Jail and set sentencing for August 17, 2023, at 1:30 pm. NEWMAN faces a maximum sentence of fifteen (15) years in state prison for this charge.

 

In June of 2019, NEWMAN was adjudicated guilty of Child Abuse (F3) and sentenced to two (2) years of community control, and three (3) years of probation (concurrently). NEWMAN was still serving that sentence at the time of his arrest for this offense on October 2, 2019. As a result NEWMAN is also facing a potential maximum sentence of five (5) years in prison for the probation violation.

 

NEWMAN'S conviction stemmed from an investigation conducted by the Palm Bay Police Department after a fourteen-year old reported NEWMAN initiated sexual activity with her while attending a party at his home. Initially scared to report the incident, the victim later told her parents that NEWMAN followed her into a bathroom when the crime occurred. When confronted by investigators, NEWMAN denied the activity, however a subsequent search of the home recovered items of evidence that corroborated the victim's account of the incident.