FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A former Flagler County Fire Rescue paramedic was found guilty Thursday of raping an unconscious patient in the back of an ambulance in 2021, prosecutors said.
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After a three-day trial, a Flagler County jury found James Tyler Melady, 38, guilty of sexual battery by a person 18 years or older on a person 18 years or older, according to the State Attorney’s Office for the Seventh Judicial Circuit.
Prosecutors said the assault occurred in October 2021 while Melady was working as a paramedic and transporting the victim.
“The defendant not only abused our victim — he abused the position he held as a first responder,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a statement. “His sentence should reflect the damage he did to our victim and to the profession he shamed.”
The case was investigated by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark prosecuted the case. Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols presided over the trial and will sentence Melady at a later date.
Melady faces up to 15 years in prison.
He also has other pending charges in two unrelated cases, one in Flagler County and one in Volusia County, the State Attorney’s Office said.