A jury in Buncombe County has convicted a man for secret peeping and sexual battery. The incident occurred when he invited a woman to a house party and proceeded to sexually assault her.
In the trial, the victim recounted her experience of being sexually assaulted by Bart William Zink, a 55-year-old resident of Asheville, North Carolina. The incident occurred on May 22, 2022, when Zink had invited her to his house for a party.
According to court records, when the victim arrived at the home, they found that no one was there except for Zink.
Based on the victim’s account, Zink provided the victim with alcohol. When the victim expressed her intention to leave, Zink persuaded her to stay, advising her against driving.
The victim reported that she remembered dozing off in a recliner but later found herself waking up in a bed next to Zink the next morning.
Later that morning, the victim managed to persuade Zink to let her use his phone. She had a feeling that something out of the ordinary had occurred.
While examining Zink’s phone, the victim discovered a video lasting four minutes. This video was presented to the jury and depicted Zink engaging in sexual activity with the unconscious victim.
The victim delivered a statement during the sentencing, expressing the immense suffering she endured as a result of Zink’s actions. She shared the emotional toll it took on her, including feelings of shame and prolonged difficulty sleeping.
The victim also requested the court to impose the highest possible sentence on Zink, which is 150 days in jail for misdemeanor sexual battery as reported by WYFF4 News.
Zink was recently convicted of felony secret peeping and misdemeanor sexual battery by a jury. Superior Court Judge Alan Thornburg has handed down a sentence of 202 days in jail for Zink.
After Zink captured the video, he received an additional sentence of thirty months on supervised probation for the crime of secret peeping, which is considered a low-level felony in North Carolina.
Judge Thornburg has ruled that Zink must serve a split sentence of 127 days, which will be served consecutively to the 75-day term resulting from the misdemeanor conviction, as a condition of probation.
