Cellphone call used to charge man in sex assault, kidnapping

St. Johns County Sheriff's Office booking photo of Shane Hand

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A man with a lengthy criminal history of violence and theft is back in jail and facing multiple charges that include sexual assault and kidnapping.

Shane Stephen Hand, 44, of St. Augustine, was arrested over the weekend in connection with a domestic violence allegation that was recorded on the victim’s cellphone, according to St. Johns County Sheriff's Office documents.

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Hand was charged with battery, sexual assault, kidnapping and tampering with evidence.

According to a St. Johns County arrest report, the investigation of Hand began after an assault was reported Nov. 30 at an apartment on Ponce Island Drive. The female victim told investigations that Hand woke her up about 10 p.m. and wanted to have sex. The two got into an argument and she said that at some point, Hand began to grope her. She told investigators that she tried to scoot away and accidentally hit Hand with her knee. She said he retaliated, punching her in the knee. 

The report states that for 30 minutes, the victim tried to leave the apartment, but Hand prevented her from doing so by pulling her hair and shoving her. According to the report, those attempts to keep her in the apartment caused injuries to various parts of her body.

Her injures and bruises were photographed by evidence technicians. 

According to investigators, seven days later, the victim was in bed asleep when a naked Hand came into the room, woke her up and demanded she perform oral sex or he would purposely sodomize her. When she refused, detectives said Hand tried to force her to perform oral sex, which resulted in the victim biting and injuring his private part.

During the investigation, detectives heard a 30-minute cellphone recording of the Nov. 30 assault . The victim had secretly recorded the ordeal, but because of where the cellphone was positioned, there was only audio and no video. 

According to investigators, there was clear audio of the victim saying, “Shane, please let me leave.”
Detectives also noted in their report that there was audio of what sounded like a physical struggle. At one point during the audio recording, detective say the victim attempts to leave and Shane is heard saying, “I’m going to f--- you up. You’re going to get f---ed up. You’re going nowhere b----.”

Later in the audio recording, the report said Shane is heard saying, “If you walk out that door, I promise I can get 911 and stab myself in the chest.” He is later heard telling the victim to call 911 so he can tell authorities that she assaulted him.

How the victim got away has been redacted from the report, but at some point during the investigation, the victim agreed to call Hand, knowing the conversation was being recorded by detectives. During the recorded phone conversation, Hand is heard telling the victim he had been tracking her all day and that he was going to call the police to be spiteful in an attempt to get the victim in trouble. 

According to the report, when Hand spoke to law enforcement, he told them he and the victim got into a heated close-quarters argument that resulted in her pushing him into a wall. He also told investigators that the victim’s injures were the result of her tripping and falling on an uneven floor in the apartment. 

Hand is currently in the St. Johns County Jail on a $9,000 bond.

Court records show Hand has a criminal rap sheet several pages long, with multiple arrests and convictions for theft, larceny and battery. 


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