Justin J. Anthony, a 21-year-old resident of Hickory Street in Bunnell’s Mondex, or Daytona North, was already facing a felony charge stemming from what a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy described as his “propensity for continued violence” after he allegedly tried to run his ex-girlfriend over with his truck. She is also the mother of a child they have in common, and was pregnant at the time of the Oct. 28 incident, which two people witnessed. That case is pending in court. Anthony was free on bond.
On Friday (Dec. 31), Anthony was back at the Flagler County jail, arrested on a even more serious charge of statutory rape, a second-degree felony, involving a 13-year-old girl. That warrant had been signed on Nov. 30, the result of an alleged incident that took place on Oct. 10.
That day, according to his arrest report, Anthony had been riding around with three girls (ages 15, 13 and 12) when he was introduced to the 13 year old at a park in Palm Coast. They exchanged phone numbers. That night he allegedly snuck into the girl’s house. The girl’s parents were unaware. He then allegedly proceeded to have sex with the girl, staying over until morning, when he snuck back out, undetected. But that day the girl revealed to her parents that the encounter had taken place, and they reported it to law enforcement.
A Child Protection Team interviewed the girl the evening of Oct. 11, when she reported that upon telling Anthony that she was 13, he said: “I’m down.” She also produced several text messages making it clear that the encounter was to be sexual. At one point he wrote her, “were [sic.] not going to get in trouble” and “Trust me I’m not going to tell anybody.”
Agreeing to speak with a sheriff’s deputy the following day, Anthony said he’d asked his 15-year-old sister to hook him up with a girl, as he just wanted to “get some pleasure,” according to his arrest report. He said his sister introduced him to the younger girl. Anthony, the report states, “admitted to meeting” her at her house in Palm Coast for sex, but he thought she was 16. When he tried contacting the girl the next day, he was confronted by her guardian.
Under Florida law, it is illegal for anyone 18 and over to have sex with a person younger than 18, even if the encounter is consensual. In this case, if Anthony is convicted, the state’s Romeo and Juliet law would not apply, either. The law doesn’t eliminate the illegality of the encounter or any punishment that may follow, but it removes the sexual offender designation from following the perpetrator the rest of his or her life. But it only applies if the victim is no more than four years younger than the offender, and if the victim is between 14 and 17. Neither is the case between Anthony and his alleged victim.
Prosecutors and judges can show a degree of magnanimity even in such cases, pleading the offense down to child abuse, for example, as has been done in similar cases in the past, which would also prevent the sex-offender designation. But Anthony has on three occasions faced felonies before, been convicted, and, in a sign of judicial magnanimity, had his adjudication withheld, so he would not be branded a felon. Prosecutors may not be willing to extend the same favor so repeatedly.
His previous felony convictions in 2019 involved three drug charges (two third-degree felonies and a misdemeanor), and in a separate case, a conviction on a charge of interfering with the custody of a minor.
Anthony is being held at the county jail on $50,000 bond.
David S. says
Lock him up for good.
Anonymous says
You’re 21 years old! Why are you hanging out with 12 and 13 year olds?
John says
Punk
T says
Please keep him locked up this time
A.j says
I believe there is a mental issue here. Wonder how old his girlfriend is. I think he like females much younger than he is.
A says
No normal 20-something thinks a 13 year old is a viable option for sex, nor a 16 year old as he claims he thought she was. He shouldn’t have bond at this point if he’s faced this many felonies before now.
Ray W. says
While I don’t know if this psychological theory remains valid, about 20 years ago I attended a continuing legal education conference devoted to different facets of child abuse. One presenter devoted a significant portion of her hour-long talk to an emerging psychological theory based on the idea that child sex abusers had, for the most part, been sexualized themselves at a very young age. These sexualized children had grown up to be socially inept, which negatively impacted their ability to engage in positive sexual activities with age-appropriate sexual partners. Since their adult sexual experiences were largely negative, they fantasized about the only time they had positive sexual experiences, which was when they were young children themselves. It was not much of a stretch to theorize that such sexually inept adults would project their sexual fantasies on other underage children and attempt to recreate them.
The theory resonated with my prosecutorial experience, having been forced to read journals and diaries written by various defendants who had sexually abused children. For example, one sexual abuser kept intricate records of his thoughts about many of the children he watched from his apartment overlooking a playground on the beachside in Daytona Beach (for some reason he would describe some children but ascribe no sexualized thoughts to them). He worked for a family that owned the Desert Inn, a motel that was the site out of which multiple complaints led to prosecutions involving child sex trafficking and abuse. The sexual abuser used different colors to highlight different types of fantasies, which he projected into the minds of the children; he actually believed the children thought the same things he thought about them. The lead investigator for the multi-agency team told me that the sexual abuser had told investigators that he had implemented the use of the different colors so that he could more quickly locate and reread his favorite written fantasies from the hundreds of pages that comprised his journal.
If the theory proposed by the psychologists remains valid, is it too great a stretch to apply it to those who support the January 6th insurrectionists? If the act of insurrection comprises the only positive political experience in their entire lives, is it possible that they will project onto the insurrectionists some sort of mythical status? Did they watch the unfolding violence with glee akin to sexual release? Do they over and over again watch video of their favorite portions of the event as an act of satisfaction similar to pleasure? Do they project their own thoughts onto the insurrectionists?
Jimbo99 says
It’s only Jan 3rd and the stories of 2022 just get weirder & weirder for Flagler County.
Dennis says
Flagler is soft on crime! Up north, his bail would have been very much higher! Always bail is set too low on flagler county. Low bail sets them free to do more crime. Lock him up and throw away the keys. Leave the kids alone!
Another one lost says
First I hear that the real reason Republicans are pissed off with AOC is the simple fact that they can’t have sex with her. Now Ray tells us that there were a bunch of right wingers creaming their jeans while watching the storming of the Capital. Republican party = sexually frustrated perverts. I’m sold. Biden 2024!
Jesscuzz says
Be safe and always make the best choice
Mary Fusco says
This guy is an idiot. But, in the same token, why is a 13 YO opening her window to let him climb in and having sex with him all night but feels the need to tell her parents the next day? Why not tell her parents when he contacted her? Many unanswered questions here.
His girlfriend says
I’m 20 thank you and she lied about her age