Trial set for accused Bartram Park rapist

Woman pushing stroller home near Bartram Park raped, police say

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man accused of rape in February after an attack on a mother in Bartram Park had his trial date set Wednesday.

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Sion Khadeem Henry, 25, has pleaded not guilty to the sexual battery of a woman behind a Bartram Park shopping center Feb. 19, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.

Henry's trial date was set for Aug. 15.

According to his arrest warrant, Henry was tied to the crime with DNA evidence collected from the victim through a rape kit.

The state said if convicted, the recommended sentence would be 129 months to 30 years.

The next pretrail date was set for April 20.

DOCUMENT: Sion Henry arrest warrant

The victim positively identified Henry in a lineup, and then ran out of the room crying, police said.

Assistant Chief Scott Dingee said that tips came in to the Sheriff's Office within 90 minutes of police releasing information about Henry and his car on Feb. 26. Police found the car parked behind a shopping center in Mandarin and arrested Henry about 2:30 p.m. as he was returning to the car from his job at a landscaping company.

"I'm very confident in the investigation that was conducted, and that we do have the right person in custody," Dingee said. "Obviously, he has a right to go through the legal system, but certainly, I believe that we have the right person, and that we have removed a dangerous person from the streets of Jacksonville."

Dingee thanked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for its help in quickly processing evidence that led to Henry being identified as a suspect in the case.

Henry, who is charged with sexual battery and strong-arm robbery, is accused of raping a woman behind the Shoppes at Bartram Park on Old St. Augustine Road.

VIDEO: Sky4 drone flies over Bartram Park

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office report, Henry followed the woman leaving the grocery store to walk home, grabbed her stroller with her baby son inside, and threatened to push it into a retention pond. He then dragged the victim onto a mattress and sexually assaulted her while continuing to make threats against her baby.

She told officers she scratched Henry in the face, and he left, taking her cellphone and an undisclosed amount of cash with him. She was treated for injuries, and her baby was not hurt.

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According to police, Henry was trying to get the victim's attention and was making cat calls, when he followed her to the back of the plaza and raped her.

Henry's bond was set at $100,000 for his strong armed robbery charge and at $1 million bond on his sexual battery charge. 

Henry's criminal history includes previous rape charge

Henry was arrested in 2015 on a charge of sexual battery, kidnapping, burglary, simple battery and trespassing. He pleaded guilty to simple battery and served 60 days in jail. The other charges were dropped.

According to the arrest report from the 2015 case, Henry approached the victim, asked for her phone number and then dragged her into a vacant house in his neighborhood and raped her. 

Police said in that case, he he followed the victim to her home and told her he wanted to know where she lived, in case she called the police. The victim did called police, and while she was sitting in the patrol car, she pointed Henry out to the officer. He was arrested on the spot.

The State Attorney's Office issued a statement, explaining that it was unable to move forward with the original charges against Henry in 2015, because the victim became uncooperative, gave inconsistent statements and refused to show up for three different depositions.

"We could not move forward with this case without the victim," the statement said.

News4Jax investigated Henry's criminal history and social media presence.

Henry was also arrested in 2010 and 2011 in Miramar, Florida, on charges of prowling and loitering, and another charge of shoplifting.

READ: Henry's Miramar arrest report

When he was arrested on the prowling and loitering charge, Henry had women's jewelry inside a blue cologne cylinder bottle, according to the arrest report.

Henry wrote on his Google+ account, "I am deeply loved, divinely appointed .. profoundly cherished by God. No enemy plan scheme, or obstacle can keep me from God's highest and best will for me."

He also bragged on his Google+ account that he had survived an actual bullet. "Now I think I'm SuperMan," he wrote.

He posted on his Google+, Twitter and Facebook accounts about his faith in God and also about alcohol, money and pornography.