Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Willie Dwayne West IV, 26, is facing two counts of sexual battery on a victim under 18 after police say he picked up a 14-year-old girl at a gas station and later had sex with her.
According to the report, the 14-year-old told a Gainesville Police Department officer that she encountered West at a gas station on June 16. She said the two began talking, she agreed to get into his vehicle, and he told her he was living in the car.
The victim reportedly said they drove to a Publix near her home, where West asked her to move into the back seat with him, and the two began sexual activity.
She told police she remained with West overnight in his car in the Publix parking lot. The following morning, she said, he brought her to his job as a trash collector, where she stayed inside the vehicle throughout his shift. Afterward, he allegedly dropped her off at a library and did not return to pick her up.
A detective later reviewed surveillance footage from the gas station and reportedly observed a man speaking with the victim before she got into his vehicle. The detective used a screenshot from the video to follow up with GFL garbage company, where a manager identified the man as West and said he had previously worked for the company. Police said the victim also identified West in a photo lineup.
West was arrested July 7 and charged with two counts of sexual battery of a victim under 18. Court and arrest records show he was previously arrested in Alachua County in 2024 on an allegation that he threatened to shoot a man, but that charge was later dropped. He was also arrested in Marion County in 2020 on a lewd/lascivious charge that was dismissed after the victim stopped cooperating. West is currently being held without bail while awaiting a hearing on a State Attorney’s Office motion seeking to keep him detained without bail until trial; if the judge rejects that request, bond will be determined at the hearing.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
