Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Authorities have charged 26-year-old Willie Dwayne West IV with two counts of sexual battery involving a minor under 18. The charges stem from an incident where he allegedly picked up a 14-year-old girl at a gas station and engaged in sexual activity with her.
According to the Gainesville Police Department, the young girl recounted meeting West on June 16 at a gas station. After a conversation, she agreed to accompany him in his car, which she noted was also his residence.
The girl described how they traveled to a nearby Publix, where West suggested they move to the back seat. There, the two reportedly began engaging in sexual acts.
She further stated that she spent the night with West inside his vehicle parked at the Publix. The following morning, West brought her along to his job as a trash collector, leaving her in the car throughout his shift. Afterward, he dropped her off at a library, never returning to pick her up.
The detective reviewed surveillance video from the gas station and reportedly saw a man talking to the victim before the victim got into his vehicle. The detective took a screenshot from the video and went to the GFL garbage company, where a manager identified West and said he used to work for the company. The victim positively identified West in a photo lineup.
West was arrested on July 7 and charged with two counts of sexual battery of a victim under the age of 18. He was previously arrested in Alachua County in 2024 for threatening to shoot a man, but the charge was later dropped; he was also arrested on a lewd/lascivious charge in Marion County in 2020 that was dropped after the victim stopped cooperating. He is being held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial; if the judge denies the motion, bail will be set at that 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.