A Tampa man accused of sexually assaulting a woman inside an abandoned house and then setting the structure on fire will remain behind bars with no bond and no trial date yet on the calendar. Roszelle Redding is accused of assaulting the woman in the vacant home before igniting her clothes to destroy evidence, according to court documents, a blaze that ultimately sent the whole house up in flames.
The alleged attack happened on August 9, though Redding was not arrested until August 23, according to Tampa Bay 28. Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office booking records show Redding faces nine criminal counts in total, including sexual battery, arson with injury, burglary with damage over $1,000, false imprisonment, battery by strangulation, and tampering with evidence, according to Hillsborough County FL Mugshots & Crime News.
State Attorney Susan Lopez filed a motion to keep Redding in jail, and a judge has since denied him bond, meaning he will be held without release until his case goes to trial. No trial date has been set.
Why a Judge Can Deny Bond Before Trial
Florida law gives judges the authority to hold defendants without bond before trial when they are charged with what the statute calls dangerous crimes, a list that includes sexual battery, arson, burglary, and aggravated battery, according to Florida Statute § 907.041 as detailed by Online Sunshine. That detention is only allowed once a judge finds that no release conditions could reasonably protect the public or the victim.
Those rules got considerably stricter across the state in January 2024, when House Bill 1627 expanded the list of qualifying dangerous crimes and stripped judges of discretion to grant non-monetary release at a defendant's first court appearance, per the Suarez Law Firm, P.A. The Florida Supreme Court updated its official court rules in May 2025 to fall in line with the tougher statute.
Locally, once prosecutors file a motion for pretrial detention, the 13th Judicial Circuit's rules require the court to schedule a detention hearing within five days, according to the State Attorney's Office for the 13th Judicial Circuit. Prosecutors carry the burden in that hearing of proving that no set of release conditions could protect the victim or the broader community.
The Prosecutor Behind the Detention Motion
Susan Lopez has led the 13th Judicial Circuit since Governor Ron DeSantis appointed her in August 2022, and she won a full term in the role in November 2024. She replaced former State Attorney Andrew Warren after his suspension by DeSantis, and her tenure has been marked by a prosecutorial platform focused on seeking maximum penalties and pretrial detention in violent cases, according to WUSF.
What Redding Is Facing If Convicted
The sexual battery charge alone carries steep consequences. Under Florida Statute § 794.011, sexual battery involving physical force or coercion is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison, or up to 30 years, along with mandatory lifelong sex offender registration upon conviction, according to the Brancato Law Firm, P.A. Florida law does not allow a consent defense when a victim has been physically restrained or incapacitated.
The arson charge adds another first-degree felony to the mix. Arson of a dwelling is punishable by up to 30 years in state prison under Florida law, with additional charges and sentence enhancements triggered when a fire causes bodily injury. Prosecutors allege Redding lit the woman's clothes on fire specifically to destroy evidence, a detail that according to court documents creates distinct arson and evidence-tampering exposure on top of the assault charge itself.
Abandoned Properties and Public Safety Risk
The case unfolded inside a vacant structure, a detail that fits a broader pattern flagged by fire safety researchers. The National Fire Protection Association has reported that vacant and unsecured buildings account for 6 percent of structure fires nationwide but cause 13 percent of firefighter injuries, driven by compromised structural conditions, squatting, and arson. The U.S. Fire Administration similarly warns that unsecured, abandoned structures carry heightened risk for arson and violent crime, and it recommends that municipalities enforce boarding standards and frequent surveillance to keep people from getting inside.
In Tampa, that enforcement responsibility falls to the city's Neighborhood Enhancement Division, which conducts code inspections and secures blighted or abandoned structures across Hillsborough County to prevent squatting, illegal dumping, and structural hazards, according to the City of Tampa. It remains unclear whether the specific address where the alleged assault and fire occurred had any prior code complaints on file.
For now, Redding remains held without bond as the case moves through the 13th Judicial Circuit, with no arraignment or trial date yet announced.
