EUSTIS, Fla.—A Jacksonville man wanted by Eustis Police Department for sexually battering a woman he met on a dating app turned himself in to EPD Tuesday.
On Aug. 16, a woman reported she had been “raped” by a man named Jeffrey James of Jacksonville. EPD responded and she told a female officer she met James on the dating app “Hinge,” and they matched about three weeks prior and began messaging and talking on the phone on Aug. 14, according to a probable cause affidavit.
She said James, 36, seemed “nice” and “easygoing” and “not the aggressive type.” They agreed to meet up and go to Wekiva Springs. James drove to Lake County from Jacksonville but the victim told police she slept in and when she got up that afternoon, she had text messages from James. They began texting back and forth and agreed to meet up and she gave him her address just after 5 p.m.
He arrived at the victim’s home about an hour later and they attempted to go to a restaurant in Mount Dora, but the wait was too long so they went to another nearby restaurant, where he paid for both meals using a credit or debit card, she told police. After they finished eating, they went back to her house in Eustis, and she was hesitant to let him inside because her house was in “disarray,” she said. James “insisted” on coming in and said he drove down from Jacksonville to help her pack.
They went in the home and walked back to a bedroom that needed to be packed. The victim was sitting on the bed when James suddenly grabbed her left leg and pulled it towards him. She made a joke and said, “Are you a foot guy?”
James reportedly replied, “Yes, I am,” and grabbed her other leg pulling both her legs towards him. He began to kiss her neck and attempted to kiss her lips, but she pulled away and he pulled her shirt down. She kept telling James, “No, that’s enough, just wait,” and he unbuttoned her pants. She told police she had already told James she did not want to rush into anything, and he was “fully aware of how she felt,” the affidavit states.
The victim tried to push James off of her, but he overpowered her and removed her shorts. He then sexually battered her, according to the affidavit.
After he was finished, the victim begam sobbing and James reportedly said, “You are fine,” and tried to approach her as if he was going to comfort her, she said in a written statement.
She said, “Do not touch me and get out of my house.” James started to leave her home with only his shorts on, carrying his other clothing, and she stopped him at the front door and said she was calling the police. He pushed her out of the way and drove away in his GMC Canyon.
Ring camera footage later showed the pair struggling at the door and the victim can be heard saying,” I got you on camera, I hope you know there’s a camera. There’s a camera, There’s a camera right here. There’s a camera right here.”
After James fled the home, the victim called the National Sexual Assault Hotline, and the operator told her to call 911.
On Aug. 22, EPD released a “Need to Locate” flyer with a photo of James and his truck, and he turned himself in on Tuesday. He is facing charges of sexual battery and false imprisonment and was released from the Lake County Jail on $100,000 bond.
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