Renowned Orlando Judge Accused of Molesting a Young Child
ORLANDO, FLORIDA — Florida judge Jeffrey Ashton is under investigation for “lewd and lascivious molestation on a child under 16 and failure to report child abuse,” according to an Executive Order issued by Governor Ron DeSantis.
The allegations against Ashton were brought to the attention of the governor by State Attorney Andrew Bain, who recently replaced Soros-backed prosecutor Monique Worrell after the governor suspended her in August.
According to the executive order, State Attorney Bain requested that Governor DeSantis assign the case to another circuit to avoid a conflict of interest because Judge Ashton sits on the bench in the same circuit serving Orange and Osceola counties. Criminal defense attorney Brian Pakett said that Bain’s decision to recuse himself from the investigation is logical because people from Bain’s office would have had multiple encounters with Judge Ashton in court over the past five years.
WHO IS JUDGE ASHTON?
Jeffrey Ashton was the first prosecutor to successfully win a conviction using DNA evidence in 1988. As the prosecutor assigned to the Casey Anthony trial in 2011, Ashton was catapulted into the national spotlight. He was later elected as state attorney in 2012 but lost his seat in 2016.
Ashton was embroiled in controversy while in the state attorney’s office after he admitted that he frequented Ashley Madison, a website primarily used by married people to arrange discreet affairs.
Elected as a circuit judge in 2018, Ashton primarily presided over domestic violence cases before his current assignment on civil cases.
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS
The serious allegations go deeper, according to DeSantis, who stated in the order that Ashton’s wife Rita is also under investigation for “failure to report child abuse” and David Ashton is under investigation for “lewd conduct on a child under 16.”
Research from the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine shows that about 90 percent of child sex abuse victims know their abuser and about 30 percent of children are abused by their own family members.
A representative from Bain’s office declined to comment on the allegations or how Bain became aware of them. Bain’s office directed all questions to the Tenth Judicial Circuit, which said any criminal charges would be brought to them by law enforcement.
Winter Park Police confirmed to The Florida Standard that they have opened an investigation into the criminal allegations. Because the investigation is active, police say they will not comment or provide additional information unless formal charges are filed.
As of Tuesday, no charges have been filed against Judge Ashton or his family. His bio page remains on the website for the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.