Duval County Jury Finds Nelson Guilty of Sexual Battery

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces a Duval County jury found Bernard Nelson II guilty of Sexual Battery. With the verdict, Nelson faces a mandatory life sentence in Florida State Prison. The Honorable Jeb Branham will sentence Nelson at a later date.

During the summer of 2022, the child victim disclosed to a trusted adult that he had been sexually abused by Nelson when he was around 6 years old. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was later notified of the abuse and an investigation ensued. At the time of the abuse, Nelson was dating the child’s mother and the child previously lived in the same home as Nelson. Further investigations revealed that Nelson committed similar acts to another child of a woman he was previously dating. In 2008, Nelson pled guilty to charges stemming from those allegations.

The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Terence Martin and Katherina Brown.