VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A man police say was captured on video dragging an unconscious woman who later said she was raped appeared before a judge Tuesday afternoon as he faces similar accusations from multiple other women.
Jason Minton’s attorney stood by the convicted sex offender’s side as he faced a felony battery charge.
“He’s doing as well as anyone who could be accused of horrific crimes on national TV and then jailed,” attorney Aaron Delgado said. “I think there’s a lot more to this story as well that’s going to come out from my understanding. When, I think, we look more into the facts and into the circumstances surrounding this, I think it’s going to be remarkably different than some of the other cases.”
News 6 spoke with Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood on Monday as he discussed the latest case.
“We had a victim, she worked in DeLand, that he promised her a job,” he said.
Deputies said on Valentine's Day, Minton drove that woman to a bar in Orange City, fed her drinks and brought her to a wooded area. The arrest report states Minton began touching her and offered money for sex.
“He picked her up in that same truck that he used to abduct our victim in Ormond Beach,” Chitwood said.
Ormond Beach Police said four days later, Minton used the same ruse on a different woman, only to kidnap and rape her. Surveillance video showed who police said was Minton dragging the unconscious woman to his truck. He's been in jail since Saturday facing sexual battery and kidnapping charges.
“To read these reports, and you’re like, ‘It’s all the same pattern,’” Chitwood said.
More than six women have come forward with similar allegations, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
“It doesn’t surprise me that people are coming forward now and recalling things in a different way,” Delgado said.
Delgado said Minton's family is standing behind him. News 6 went by Minton's home in DeLand but no one answered the door. Minton remains in the Volusia County Jail without bond. A bond hearing is scheduled for Friday.
“He’s confident that as more information comes out, you’ll take this and look at this in a different light,” Delgado said.