Man Kidnapped, Raped Woman, Deputies Say

A 50-year-old Tampa man is behind bars after Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies say he kidnapped a woman Sunday morning and took her to his home to sexually assault her.

The case against Barry Eugene Lineberger began to unfold around 2:30 a.m. Sunday when deputies say he threatened a 22-year-old woman with violence if she wouldn’t leave Ybor City and come with him. Once at his 5614 Terra Ciea Drive home, Lineberger is accused of taking the victim to his rented room where he sexually assaulted her.

At some point during the attack, the woman was able to access her cell phone and call deputies for help. When those deputies arrived, they heard a woman crying for help, an email to media from the sheriff’s office stated.

After forcing their way into the home, deputies found Lineberger fully naked, the email said.

Lineberger was charged with sexual battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping.

Lineberger was convicted in 2007 on an attempted first-degree sexual abuse charge out of New York City, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records. He had a last known, registered address of 19th Street in Tampa.

As of Monday morning, Lineberger was being held in the Hillsborough County Jail without bond. Jail records indicate he was charged in a July domestic violence case and was also booked into the Hillsborough jail in 2010 for fleeing to elude and in 2007 for aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer.

Further details in Sunday’s incident are not yet available.

Booking photo courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office