Manatee County court proceedings surrounding the brutal attack of a woman more than a year ago ended Nov. 15 with the sentencing of Peter Fossett to one day less than 26 years in prison.
However, Fossett’s days before a tribunal are not over. He also faces up to 10 years in federal prison for violations of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
In August 2015, Fossett pummeled his victim’s head, broke her eye socket and a neck bone and forced the woman to perform sex several times, while they drove from the Holmes Beach CVS to Sarasota County, according to police and court records.
After a three-day trial in October, jurors found Fossett, 37, guilty on counts of battery, sexual battery and aggravated battery.
Twelfth Circuit Judge Hunter Carroll sentenced Fossett to consecutive prison terms in the Florida Department of Corrections — 11 months and 29 days for a misdemeanor battery and, for the felony counts, 15 years on the sexual battery and 10 years on the aggravated battery.
In sentencing, Carroll credited Fossett for serving 449 days in the Manatee County jail since his arrest and designated Fossett a sexual predator.
Nov. 18, the 12th Circuit State Attorney’s office dropped a separate state case against Fossett for failing to register as a sex offender.
Assistant State Attorney Dickey Hough said the state decided not to prosecute that case because the federal system “could do more” than the state’s five years in prison for a third-degree misdemeanor.
Committing another sex crime while violating the registration laws — as was the case with Fossett — is an aggravating factor under federal law, he added.
Fossett was next transported Nov. 21 to the Pinellas County jail at the request of the U.S. Marshals Service, where he awaits proceedings in the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida.
The indictment alleges Fossett became a sex offender subject to registry laws in January 2005 when he was convicted of a sex offense with a minor in Hamilton County, Ohio.
It also alleges Fossett registered as a sex offender in Kentucky 2006-2015 but then moved across state lines to Florida, where he failed to register.
Florida law requires sex offenders to register with law enforcement within 48 hours of a visit.