BRUNSWICK COUNTY — A repeat sex offender was arrested Tuesday, charged with kidnapping, imprisoning and raping a homeless woman.
Bobby Myron Willis, 53, of Leland is being held in Brunswick County jail. He was arrested without a warrant by Brunswick County Sheriff’s deputies; the Sheriff’s Office justified the arrest saying there was “probable cause to believe” Willis had kidnapped his victim – a 53-year-old woman from Lexington, Davidson County – for the purpose of “sexual servitude.”
According to Emily Flax, spokeswoman for the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, no information is being released about the victim out of respect for her ordeal. The Sheriff’s Office would say that the kidnapping was not random and that Willis and the victim had been acquainted.
Willis has a history of sexual assault. He served two-and-a-half months in Brunswick County for an assault in 2007. Two years later, he served five months in New Hanover County for another assault. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety lists Willis as recidivist offender, a category of sex offender considered likely to offend again.
According to Brunswick County, Willis is being held on $700,000 bail ahead of his court date on Friday, May 26.
