Jacksonville man charged with sexually assaulting 8 women: JSO

A certified nurse assistant who worked in the Jacksonville area was arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual battery that took place over three years, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

Brandon Young, 34, who worked at both St. Vincent Medical Center and Baptist Hospital in Jacksonville, is accused of sexually assaulting at least eight women from 2006 to 2009, the sheriff’s office said. Jacksonville Baptist is not affiliated with Baptist Health South Florida.

Young was charged with seven counts of sexual battery, one count of attempted sexual battery, and two counts of false imprisonment.

It was not clear whether Young used his position at the hospitals to prey on women, authorities said. JSO is investigating whether Young assaulted more women.

Authorities said they did find a pattern in Young’s assaults.

“The suspect would generally meet the victims in social settings. He would quickly establish a rapport and subsequently place the victims in a disadvantage through isolation,“ Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams told reporters at a press conference Wednesday, according to local news reports. “Once in this position, the suspect would confine the victims then sexually assault the victims.”

Williams said Young’s arrest was the result of the 2016/2017 sexual assault kit initiative, a federal grant given to law enforcement agencies to help solve sex crimes. JSO used DNA of Young’s family members that it had on file to establish a link between Young and several sexual batteries. Once the connection was found, it worked with the state attorney’s office to secure a warrant.

Young was arrested July 26 at his home in Middleburg, Florida, outside of Jacksonville. If convicted, he would face up to life in prison with a minimum sentence of 25 years.

Baptist Hospital told CBS Action News Jax that Young was fired last month.

Although JSO is still investigating whether Young improperly used his position, it released an incident report Wednesday describing a situation that occurred at St. Vincent in 2016. The report states that Young “digitally penetrated” a woman while he bathed her. She has since died, authorities said.

St. Vincent suspended Young while it investigated the incident. He returned to work four days later after her allegations could not be proved, the report said. Deputies said the incident was not reported to them.

C. Isaiah Smalls II is a reporter covering breaking and trending news for the Miami Herald. Previously, he worked for ESPN’s The Undefeated as part of their inaugural class of Rhoden Fellows. He is a graduate of both Columbia University and Morehouse College.