Sarasota man convicted of molesting young girl

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - A Sarasota man faces life is prison after being convicted Friday for molesting a young child over a six-year period, the state attorney’s office said.

Clifton Renard Bean was convicted Feb. 8 of two counts of sexual battery on a child younger than 12, two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation on a child under 12, one count sexual battery on a child between 12 and 18 by a person in familial authority, and one count of lewd or lascivious molestation on a child between 12 and 16.

The crimes were committed between August 2009 and February 2015.

Bean faces a minimum mandatory sentence of life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 23.

Bean began sexually abusing the victim when she was 8. He was caught by a family member, as he loomed over the victim’s bed in the middle of the night, prosecutors said.

During trial, the victim took the stand to confront her abuser. She told the jury that she would often sleep on the floor in the doorway of her bedroom, or against a dresser in the hopes of avoiding him. The jury also heard a recording of a controlled call made from the victim to the defendant, and when she confronted him about molesting her as a child, his response was “I couldn’t help it.”

The jury reached a verdict after an hour and a half of deliberations.