Palm Harbor Man Jailed on Sexual Battery Charges

A 38-year-old Palm Harbor man faces two counts of sexual battery after Pinellas County deputies say he assaulted a child left in his care.

According to the sheriff’s office, a 12-year-old girl confided in a friend that sexual activity occurred between her and Shannon Lee Giddens on Sunday. The friend reported the conversation to deputies that day and Giddens, of 411 Dempsey Road, was brought into custody around 8:30 p.m.

Deputies say Giddens admitted the act. He was charged in the case and taken to the Pinellas County Jail.

Giddens was being held in lieu of $300,000 bond Monday, jail records indicate.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office