Lake Butler Man Arrested for Sexually Abusing Child in Gainesville
Alachua County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Lake Butler, Union County, resident Robert Jacob Wilkerson, 49, Tuesday on a warrant for child molestation and sexual battery against a minor.
According to the police report, Wilkerson molested the victim when he lived in Gainesville years ago. Wilkerson reportedly sexually abused the victim on several occasions from when she was four to six years old, sexually battering her on at least one occasion.
In June 2024, the victim was at a routine doctor checkup and filling out a form, which included questions about if she had experienced abuse. This led the victim to disclose to her doctor what Wilkerson did, which prompted her to interview with the Gainesville Child Protective Team (CPT).
The victim told the CPT about Wilkerson’s sexual abuse and said she would wake up to him touching her private areas, and he would take showers with her. The victim said, “Nothing sexual occurred in the showers, but that [Wilkerson] would turn the water to be really hot.” The victim disclosed that Wilkerson would take her on drives and tell her that he “loved her” and would ask if she “loved him.” The victim said she felt forced to say she “loved him” back.
The victim told CPT Wilkerson "would tell her that he would hurt her if she told her mom and other times he would bribe her with a toy or candy if she did not tell her mom.
Deputy Michael Adkins reported, “On [December 10, 2024], I was finally able to speak with [Wilkerson] on the phone. At the time he was working as an over the road truck driver and gone for several weeks at a time. Due to this, our interview was only by phone… He did confirm that he used to get a shower with the [victim] until she was around three to four years old. He stated that her brother (who is around the same age as the [victim]) would also be in the shower and that he did not get any showers alone with the [victim]. He stated that the showers would be after a time when they were outside in the yard getting dirty and needed to get a shower.”
Wilkerson denied molesting the victim.
The victim’s sister told police that the victim told her about Wilkerson’s sexual abuse when she was a minor. The victim’s sister, who is now an adult, said she shared a room with the victim and noticed Wilkerson would sometimes be alone in the room with her.
The victim’s brother told police he could only recall one occasion where he showered with Wilkerson and the victim and said most times Wilkerson would shower with her alone. The victim’s brother described Wilkerson as “always mean to him.”
Wilkerson was arrested over a year after the victim reported the sexual abuse.
The State Attorney’s Office filed a pretrial detention motion on Wilkerson, to be heard by Judge Robert Groeb on September 15.
