Newberry man charged with kidnapping, sexual assault

A Newberry man was arrested early Sunday on charges of kidnapping, sexual assault and battery.

Earl Nesbit, 49, is accused of forcing a woman to stay in his house from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., according to an arrest report.

Nesbit and the victim had been arguing for the past two days about a church trip to Philadelphia. She wanted to go, but Nesbit refused to let her go.

The argument grew more heated Saturday night and Nesbit told her she was not allowed to leave for the trip or even leave the house.

He followed her as she walked around the house, standing close to her and, at one point, lying on top of her on the couch to keep her from getting up, according to the report.

The victim said she didn’t resist out of fear that Nesbit would become physically violent.

At 3 a.m., Nesbit took the victim from the couch to the bedroom and forced her to have sex with him.

The victim made two cell phone calls to police while in the bathroom but didn’t say anything out of fear that Nesbit, who was standing just outside of the bathroom door, would overhear her. She made the first call at 3:23 a.m. and the second one at 5:50 a.m.

After she realized the police had not responded to the first two calls, she texted to other people to call the police. Police arrived soon after that.

Nesbit was taken to the Alachua County Jail. At the jail changing room, Nesbit refused to take off his clothes and change into jail clothing. After Nesbit refused several orders, police removed Nesbit’s clothing and took his socks and underwear as evidence.

The victim has a three-inch scratch on her left forearm, which she said could have happened when she was forced to lie down on the couch.