The mayor of Palm Beach County is now accusing her now ex-husband of three counts of rape while they were still married. She claims that each rape occurred while she was unconscious from a mixture of wine and pain medication.
Milissa Holland, 46, alleges that David O’Brien raped her on three occasions in 2013. During the time, she was taking Tramadol to treat a knee injury. She states that she fell asleep fully-clothed, yet woke up undressed, “feeling strange,” with vague memories lingering in her mind of being sexually assaulted by O’Brien.
The couple soon separated after the alleged incidents. However, Holland didn’t file charges or file for divorce because her ailing daughter’s medical bill was covered under her husband’s healthcare insurance.
In November 2016, Milissa Holland was elected the mayor of Palm Beach, Florida. She was previously unemployed prior to becoming elected mayor. However, Holland does have experience in pubic office as a former county commissioner.
In April 2016, Holland finally filed for divorce against her husband. However, the four-year statute of limitations have expired, and O’Brien, 53, can no longer be tried or sued for rape.
O’Brien is currently demanding that his wife pay his legal fees for the divorce. Meanwhile, Holland is seeking $5,000 a month from her husband to pay alimony fees.
Holland and O’Brien married in 2012. At the time, O’Brien worked as an under-sheriff for Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, where he was employed for over two decades.
In February 2013, Holland received a prescription of 50 mg Tramadol pills to treat a knee injury. She was instructed to take the pills for four days. On the first night, she took her recommended dose and then ate dinner and drank wine with her husband. Upon waking, she reported “feeling strange” and undressed. This again happened for the next three nights.
After she finished up with her treatment, she confronted her husband about “taking advantage of her.” She recalls vague memories of her husband for performing sexual acts on her for hours while she was helplessly under the influence of alcohol and pills, which made her unconscious. She vaguely recalls her husband dragging her unconscious body across the bed in order to perform oral sex on her.
A month after the alleged sexual assaults, O’Brien reportedly contacted Jeff Stuart, a friend at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. They met in a parking lot of a bank at 2 A.M. to discuss his wife’s allegations.
Later, Stuart allegedly went to Holland’s home to speak with her. The sheriff’s office later contacted Holland, asking if she’d let to seek charges against her husband. She declined. In 2015, prosecutors asked Holland once again if she’d like to press charges. At the time, investigators had uncovered an e-mail where O’Brien allegedly admits to raping his wife.
According to The Dayton News Journal, O’Brien wrote in the e-mail that, “I take full responsibility for all my actions and for raping (redacted) and causing her so much emotional and physical pain and abuse.”
