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Clearwater police charge man with second sexual battery, believe more victims are out there

Arrest records detail a brutal rape inside a Clearwater gym
Posted at 12:34 PM, Jan 31, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-31 18:18:11-05

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Police in Clearwater say the man they arrested for a September rape on Tuesday is also facing charges for another attack, and they believe there could be additional victims.

Detectives said on Tuesday that DNA evidence connected William Walden, 34, to a beating and rape that happened on September 10. On Friday, they announced Walden is also facing charges for sexual battery and kidnapping related to an attack that happened this week. Walden is a trained boxer.

According to arrest records, Walden met the victim at the Clearwater Boxing Center on 1710 North Hercules Avenue in Clearwater around 12:30 a.m. on January 26.


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Once the woman was inside the gym, Walden, who the report indicates is an amateur boxer, grabbed her and began choking her. The documents say Walden repeatedly choked the victim to the point that she lost consciousness and begged him not to kill her.

At some point during the attack, police said the victim tried to run out of the gym and Walden grabbed her, beat her and dragged her by the neck to a secluded area. Walden then ripped her clothes off and raped her, according to the documents.

Authorities say Walden threatened the victim if she went to police. The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment after the violent attack. It left her with with a broken face and knocked a tooth out.

ABC Action News spoke exclusively with the victim's sister. We are not naming her to protect the identity of the victim. She recalled what her sister told her when she got out of the hospital.

"That he won... I told her he didn’t because you are alive," she said.

RELATED: DNA leads to arrest in beating, rape in Clearwater: Police

The woman is Walden’s second known victim. He faces another similar sexual battery charge from September. In that case, detectives say he dragged the victim from a car, then beat and raped her.

"How do you lay down at night? How do you live with yourself?" asked the second victim's sister.

Ron Valicoff owns Clearwater Boxing Center where the second rape occurred. He showed ABC Action News the backdoor where Walden allegedly broke in before 1 a.m.

"It’s terrible it’s the worst possible thing we can imagine," said Valicoff, "I don’t know much about him except he’s obviously a very bad guy. This is not typical of the people we train here."

Over at Clearwater PD Lieutenant Michael Walek finds it hard to stomach the details.

"The worst I’ve ever seen in 23 year,"He’s a brutal rapist. He’s that one percent that takes advantage of the week and physically beats the life out of them based upon his training."

Walden remains in the Pinellas County Jail. According to the records, he was out on bond for previous drug related charges when he was arrested for the September attack. That arrest took place just one day after this second attack.

Detectives are concerned there could be other victims out there and are urging any to come forward or call 727-562-4242.

"Just don’t be scared. He’s where he needs to be," said the victim's sister to any other potential victims out there.