A 49-year-old Bushnell man will spend the rest of his life in prison after a judge imposed seven consecutive life sentences on Tuesday. Brian Keith Winton received the maximum penalty from Judge Mary P. Hatcher in a Sumter County courtroom after being convicted of multiple counts of child sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation.
The sentencing marks a legal procedure that began in February, when a jury convicted Winton guilty of all charges. He was found guilty of three charges of sexual battery on a child under the age of twelve, as well as four counts of lewd and lascivious molestation on the same victim.
Along with the prison sentence, the court officially labeled Winton as a sexual predator.
The case began in October 2023, when the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation into allegations of abuse involving two minor children.
During separate interviews with authorities, both victims reported a four-year cycle of abuse that began when they were just 10 years old. Detectives observed that the victims supplied clear, descriptive details about the incidents, establishing the probable cause required for an arrest. state attorney
After being arrested, Winton was taken to the sheriff’s office. After being advised of his Miranda rights, he confessed to investigators that he had sexually abused both children.
“This is a just sentence for this defendant,” stated Bill Gladson, State Attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit, after the hearing. “And a fitting way to provide closure, to provide reassurance of safety, and to provide due justice for the two young victims in this case.”
Assistant State Attorney Shelby Senn conducted the prosecution, which built on Inspector Pam Warren’s initial investigation for the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
Winton has been in detention since his conviction last month and will be transported to the Florida Department of Corrections to finish his sentence.
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