JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man convicted earlier of raping a child continued to deny his guilt at sentencing Thursday.
“I didn’t lay a finger on that kid,” Michael Todd Linkenauger told the judge before receiving a life sentence. "Anyone that knows me knows I would never heart a flea."
Linkenauger was found guilty earlier this month of sexual battery after police say he raped and sexually abused a child numerous times in 2017 and 2018. A jury also convicted him of attempted sexual battery and two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation – a verdict reached in just a few hours.
Linkenauger, a Realtor who previously ran the Hot Dogs for Hope ministry, faces 20 years to life in prison.
His victim and the victim’s mother both spoke at the sentencing hearing, pleading for the maximum penalty. “This community is not safe with him,” the mother told Judge London Kite.
But several people either sent letters or spoke on Linkenauger's behalf, saying they did not believe he was guilty and asking Kite for mercy.
Linkenauger, who represented himself during the course of the case, had a lawyer at Thursday's sentencing, but complained about that attorney’s performance. He said Joshua Goldsborough didn’t push hard enough on what he called “inconsistencies” in the victim’s testimony.
Prosecutor Terence Martin said he would “not dignify” Linkenauger’s comments with a response, accusing the defendant of “gaslighting” the victims and the court.
