TAVARES, Fla. – Jury selection is set to begin Monday for the trial of a former Lake County deputy facing serious charges.
Matthew Donnelly is accused of raping a woman during a traffic stop.
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Donnelly was fired not long after he was arrested in June 2014. He is charged with sexual battery by a law enforcement officer. A woman claims that after a night of drinking in Orlando on New Year's Eve, Donnelly found her passed out in a car parked along U.S. Highway 27 after her boyfriend flagged him down for help.
The woman says Donnelly separated them by putting her boyfriend in his patrol car before going back to her car and sexually battering her.
Investigators found that Donnelly had his dash camera turned off for more than 20 minutes during the encounter. Donnelly was arrested after swabs sent to the state lab showed that the victim's DNA was on the steering wheel, the gear-shift knob and the flashlight in his patrol car.
Donnelly's version of what happened is not clear.
After jury selection Monday, testimony in the case is scheduled to begin Tuesday at the Lake County courthouse.