A man was sentenced for a “cowardly” attack on a trail in Central Florida.
The criminal act happened on the Seminole Wekiva Trail.
The victim, Hayley Hood, was walking on the Seminole Wekiva Trail in in Seminole County when the attack happened and she was among the witnesses lined up to testify by prosecutor Sarah Mian had the case gone to trial.
20-year-old Patrick Gamache was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual battery as part of an agreement with the State Attorney’s Office. At the sentencing hearing, Hood called the assault “a cowardly decision to take and use my body like an object.”
“This six-minute altercation altered the way I see the world for the rest of my life,” Hayley Hood said. “I am constantly and completely on edge, looking over my shoulder, jumping at the smallest noises, the smallest inkling of danger, wondering if it’s about to happen again … I can only hope no other innocent woman has to suffer his cruelty and that he gets what he deserves.”
Hood was walking along the popular trail behind her workplace during a lunch break on August 18, 2025, when Gamache, traveling on a rented electric scooter, approached her from behind, wrestled her to the ground, and dragged her off the trail to sexually batter her.
“I still remember what his hand felt like over my mouth,” Hood told the court. “I still remember the look in his eyes.”
A witness who worked nearby heard the woman’s screams, stepped onto the path, and saw Gamache on top of the woman. The witness immediately called 911. Gamache fled on foot, leaving behind the scooter and his T-shirt.
Among the evidence in the case, the scooter company’s rental data showed Gamache was its last user. The scooter’s GPS location data showed its rider’s movements toward the scene of the sexual assault.
Based on the victim and witness’s description of the assailant and a traffic camera sighting, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office deputies found Gamache less than 24 hours after the attack. He was arrested shirtless and shoeless on an Interstate 4 onramp.
During questioning by Sheriff’s investigators, “Gamache confessed to the sexual battery and issued an apology to the victim,” the arrest report said. He apologized again in court during his sentencing.
The man sexually assaulted her when she was walking on the Seminole Wekiva Trail in August and will designated a sexual predator in addition to the sentence of 10 years in prison. Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler ordered Gamache to serve two years on sex-offender probation following his prison term.
The post Man Sentenced for ‘Cowardly’ Attack on Trail in Central Florida appeared first on West Orlando News.
Source: West Orlando News
Published: 2026-07-03 05:04:00