Sex offender recently acquitted on kidnapping and rape charges jailed again
Sex offender Jason Minton, who was recently acquitted of rape and kidnapping charges in a case in which a video showed him dragging a woman to his vehicle, was back in jail on Thursday, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office arrested him on three counts of failure to properly register as a sex offender. Each charge is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Minton was held without bond until his first appearance on Friday, at which time Volusia County Judge Rachel Myers set a bond of $15,000.
The judge also ordered that Minton be monitored electronically.
Minton's defense attorney, Aaron Delgado, said on Friday evening that Minton will remain in the jail until Monday so that a GPS tracker can be placed on him.
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Minton, who has an Orange City address, had a brief period of freedom after his acquittal before deputies placed him in cuffs again on Thursday.
“Detectives determined Minton used two email addresses and a phone number that he never reported to the sheriff’s office as required by law due to his status as a registered sex offender,” the sheriffs office release stated.
Minton has been a registered sex offender since his conviction in 2006 of lewd assault and sexual battery of a victim under 16, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. He was also convicted in 2006 of failing to comply with registration requirements. He served prison sentences totaling five years.
Minton's latest sexual battery trial
Minton’s most recent case drew widespread attention two years ago due to video of him dragging the apparently unconscious woman from the River Grille at 950 U.S. 1 in Ormond Beach and into his pickup truck.
On Aug. 26, a jury found Minton not guilty of kidnapping to facilitate the commission of a felony, which was punishable by up to life in prison. Jurors also found Minton not guilty of sexual battery on a helpless person, which was punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood stated in a Facebook post after Minton's acquittal that Minton would have to strictly comply with the law to avoid a trip back to jail.
Minton still faces a separate case involving another woman in which he is accused of third-degree felony battery.
Minton is accused of meeting a DeLand woman for a fake job interview on Feb. 14, 2020, at an Orange City bar. Then he drove her to a secluded area and pulled at her shirt and bra and touched her shoulders several times against her will, reports show.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida sex offender back in jail after failing to register
