'His slickness ends now’: Accused Volusia County rapist remains in jail after more than a half dozen women say he targeted them

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A DeLand man accused of rape and kidnapping remains in jail after an additional charge was filed against him from a separate case.

Ormond Beach police said 42-year-old Jason Minton lured a woman with a fake job interview and then raped her inside his truck.

Volusia County deputies said that six more women have come forward after surveillance video allegedly captured the moment before that incident, showing Minton dragging an unconscious woman to his car after a lunch at the River Grille on U.S. 1.

JASON MINTON Wanted For Sexual Battery
UPDATE - Jason Minton turned himself in at his attorney's office tonight *** In 2015, the Sheriff's Office arrested convicted sex offender Jason Minton on charges of sexual battery and kidnapping. The victim in the case reported she went out for drinks with him. After several drinks at a bar, he was supposedly going to take her to a restaurant. Instead, he brought her to his house and forced a pill down her throat. The victim said she became incapacitated and faded in and out of consciousness while he raped her. The case went to trial, and Minton had local defense attorneys Aaron Delgado and David Damore on his side. What happened next is described on the Aaron Delgado & Associates website, in a post titled "From Life in Prison to Complete Freedom in 48 Hours." You can read their full account at https://communitylawfirm.com/facing-life-in-prison The short version is: Minton’s attorneys were able to prevent evidence of a prior offense from coming into the trial. In their own words, “Mr. Delgado was able to highlight inconsistencies between the Williams Rule witness' present-day testimony and her testimony almost twenty years ago, thereby undermining her credibility.” Rather than serve any prison time, Minton was able to secure a plea deal that meant he would plead to a misdemeanor, accept a year’s probation and avoid serving a single day in prison. As his attorneys wrote, Minton went "from facing the possibility of life in prison to walking out of the courtroom a free man in less than two full days of trial." You might be wondering why this matters today, more than three years after that trial. Jason Minton currently has felony warrants for his arrest on new charges of sexual battery and kidnapping in Ormond Beach. The victim in that case told Ormond Beach police that she met with Minton ostensibly for an interview for a secretarial job at a Tree Service business. She said the interview was at a bar, and she had some drinks with Minton. The next thing she remembers is waking up with painful injuries that suggest she was raped. Surveillance video from the bar showed Minton dragging the victim to his truck, pushing her inside and leaving. She appeared limp, unresponsive and unconscious. You can see it for yourself right here. You should also know that the Sheriff's Office is investigating a separate case in the Orange City area where a young woman reported she met with a man for an interview for a job at a tree service business. She said he met her at a bar and persistently ordered her alcohol. He then drove her to a secluded area, pulled her shirt down and touched her against her will, and offered her cash in exchange for sex. Fortunately, the victim in this case was not incapacitated, and she was able to resist, refuse and reject the suspect's advances. That case is still under investigation by our detectives, but I believe the suspect’s identity will be determined very soon. You have to wonder if Jason Minton's next plea deal will be featured on his defense attorney's website, too. He seems to be the poster boy for getting off light. We can all expect him to have the best defense attorneys money can buy. Until he’s behind bars where he belongs, I want to urge ANY woman who is approached or contacted by Jason Minton to stay as far away from him as you can. In the meantime, those of us who have a voice have to speak up for rape victims whose testimonies and personal lives are sure to be picked apart and placed under a microscope by defense attorneys working on their next big success story.
Posted by Mike Chitwood on Friday, February 21, 2020

According to officials, Minton overheard the victim talking about wanting a new job. He told her that his employer is looking for a secretary and would pay her $35 an hour. They met for an interview over lunch.

Investigators say the next thing that she remembers is waking up at her parents’ house after they found her in her car in the restaurant’s parking lot. The woman said she believes Minton had sex with her, and she complained it was very painful.

Officials said all the new victims that have come forward all have similar stories, including one victim who said she was 14 years old when Minton attacked her.

“He was slick. Nut his slickness ends now,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said. “It’s over.”

In another case involving Minton, officials said he was discussing a job interview with a woman before offering her money in exchange for sex. Detectives said she refused and Minton eventually took her home. The new charge of felony battery stems from that case, deputies said.

But during Minton’s first appearance Tuesday for the battery charge, his lawyer said there is more to the story.

“When we look into the circumstances surrounding this, I think it’s going to be remarkably different than the other cases,” his attorney Aaron Delgado said.

Chitwood is urging anyone else who may have been targeted by Minton to come forward.

“My call to any woman who he sexually assaulted and drugged is this is your opportunity to make sure he doesn’t see the light of day and does this to any other women in our community ... there’s strength in numbers here,” Chitwood said Monday.

Anyone with details or a case to report connected to Minton is asked to contact Volusia Sheriff’s Detective Justin Martir at jmartir@vcso.us or 386-668-3830.