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Florida man charged with sexual battery, burning victim’s hair

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A heavily tattooed Florida man was arrested after police say he took a woman to a camper before sexually battering her and burning her hair, punching her in the head and then leaving her in a grocery store parking lot.

28-year-old Efthimios Michael Zachary Mikedis of Ocklawaha was arrested Wednesday and charged with sexual battery, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Orlando Police Department said the woman told deputies that Mikedis offered to give her a ride from Orange County to her aunt’s home in Marion County on Jan. 5.

When Mikedis arrived at the victim’s home in a van driven by his mother and another man who was inside the vehicle, the victim told Mikedis she did not want to go, but he told her she had to, police stated.

Once the victim was in the vehicle, investigators said Mikedis forced an unknown substance into her mouth. She told police she was then taken to a camper on a residence. When the victim asked if Mikedis was going to take her to her aunt’s home, Mikedis allegedly said, “Why don’t you just stay here?”

Police say once in the camper the victim recalled being sexually battered by Mikedis, a secondary object and another person.

When the victim woke up she tried calling an Uber but  Mikedis forced another unknown substance into her mouth, then burned her hair with a cigarette, dragged her and punched her in the back of the head, according to the release. She said she was forced into a vehicle, again driven by Mikedis’ mother, and forced out at a grocery store parking lot.

The victim reported the case to police, and got treatment at a local hospital.

Authorities investigated the case and arrested Mikedis, who was already in jail on unrelated charges.

Mikedis faces one count of sexual battery and he is being held in the Marion County Jail.