George McFatten III, the Palm Bay man who showed up naked in a couple's backyard and later tangled with police, has been sentenced to seven years in state prison after a jury found him guilty of attacking officers. Prosecutors say the confrontation, captured on police body-camera video played for jurors, left a Palm Bay officer injured.
According to the Office of the State Attorney for the 18th Judicial Circuit, McFatten was convicted of battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence. Circuit Judge Charles Crawford handed down the seven-year sentence at an April 21 hearing. The state attorney's office said prosecutors relied on officer testimony and body-camera footage during the February jury trial, and later released a public summary of the case.
How prosecutors say the confrontation unfolded
The incident dates back to December 2023, when, according to court testimony, a couple in southwest Palm Bay called the police after McFatten walked into their screened-in pool enclosure without clothes and began muttering about "Jeremiah." As reported by West Orlando News, officers tracked McFatten to a shed, where he tried to pull the door shut using straps, threw chains at officers, and resisted efforts to arrest him.
Trial testimony described officers using a Taser on McFatten several times during the struggle. A Palm Bay officer told jurors she was bitten in the chaos and later treated at a hospital, according to the evidence presented in court.
Past convictions and registration
Court records and prior reporting show McFatten has a previous conviction for lewd and lascivious battery on a child under 15 and was designated a sex offender in 2014. He has also faced arrests for failing to register as required. Florida Today reports he will be turned over to the Florida Department of Corrections to serve the seven-year sentence. Prosecutors pointed to his criminal history at trial as they argued he posed a risk to public safety.
Prosecutors praise officers' response
Assistant State Attorney Jay Fowler told jurors that officers were injured during the encounter and credited their actions in what prosecutors characterized as a dangerous, fast-moving situation. "The officers did a great job of taking care of a dangerous situation and were harmed by the defendant in the process," Fowler said. "Our community is safer today because of their efforts to take this offender off the streets," the 18th Judicial Circuit press release added as it summarized the prosecution's case.
McFatten's seven-year term follows the February jury verdict and, barring an appeal, will be followed by his transfer to state custody. Court records indicate the sentence is to be carried out by the Florida Department of Corrections.
