A man has been 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 Seminole County when the incident occurred, and she was one of the witnesses lined up to testify by prosecutor Sarah Mian if the case went to trial.
Patrick Gamache, 20, was sentenced to ten years in jail after pleading guilty to sexual battery as part of an agreement with the State Attorney’s Office. Hood described the assault at the sentencing hearing as “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 stated. “I am constantly on edge, looking over my shoulder, jumping at the smallest noises or inklings of danger, wondering if it will happen again…” I can only pray that no other innocent woman has to endure his cruelty and that he receives what he deserves.
Hood was strolling down the popular route behind her business during her lunch break on August 18, 2025, when Gamache approached her from behind on a rented electric scooter, forced her to the ground, and took her off the trail to sexually assault her.
“I still remember what his hand felt like over my mouth,” Hood said in court. “I still remember the look in his eyes.”
A witness who worked nearby heard the woman’s screams and stepped into the path, where he spotted Gamache on top of her. The witness quickly called 911, and Gamache escaped on foot, leaving behind the scooter and his T-shirt.
Among the evidence in the case was the scooter company’s rental data, which revealed Gamache as the last user. The scooter’s GPS position data revealed the rider’s travels toward the scene of the sexual assault.
Seminole County Sheriff’s Office deputies discovered Gamache less than 24 hours after the incident, based on the victim and witness descriptions of the offender, as well as a traffic camera sighting. He was apprehended on an Interstate 4 onramp while wearing no shirt or shoes.
During questioning by the sheriff’s investigators, “Gamache confessed to the sexual battery and issued an apology to the victim,” according to the arrest report. He apologized again in court throughout his sentence.
The man sexually assaulted her while she was walking on the Seminole Wekiva Trail in August, and he will be declared a sexual predator in addition to receiving a 10-year prison sentence. Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler ordered Gamache to serve two years on sex-offender probation after his jail sentence.
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