BUNNELL — A former Flagler County Fire Rescue paramedic accused of sexually battering an unconscious woman in the back of an ambulance while he was on duty went on trial Monday, Dec. 8, as his defense claimed he was doing an exam of the pelvic area.
James Tyler Melady, 38, of Daytona Beach, was charged with one count of sexual battery on a helpless person and one count of video voyeurism on a victim 19 or older, according to the sheriff’s office.
Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols is presiding over the trial which continues on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center in Bunnell. Melady is being held at the Flagler County jail.
Melady’s arrest prompted Flagler County to put in place new procedures to protect patients in the back of an ambulance, including having two personnel riding in the back when a patient is considered vulnerable. A camera was also installed in the back of ambulances.
Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark told jurors in her opening statement on Dec. 8 that the woman had overdosed on alcohol and was being transported to a hospital on Oct. 17, 2021. She said Melady, in his firefighter uniform, was alone with her in the back of the ambulance. She said Melady first made sure she was unconscious by trying to open her eyes and then rubbing her sternum.
Clark said Melady next pulled up her shirt to expose her breasts. Then Melady pulled down her sweat pants exposing her genitals, she said. Then Melady sexually assaulted her with his fingers, Clark said.
Melady recorded what he was doing, Clark said.
Prosecutor: Woman had no idea what paramedic did to her
Three years later, a woman who was dating and living with Melady was concerned about his infidelity, so she decided to search his laptop. She found the video of Melady in the back of the fire rescue vehicle with the unconscious woman. The woman was disturbed by the video and used her cellphone to record it.
Law enforcement then got the video through a search warrant and using the time stamp on the video and Fire Rescue records determined who the woman was. A detective then went to speak to the woman.
“She will tell you, just like she told detectives, that she had no idea a video had been made of her and she had no idea what had happened to her when she was being transported by the ambulance because she was completely unresponsive and unconscious during that transport,” Clark said.
Clark said jurors will also hear from a board-certified emergency room doctor about the woman’s condition and whether the doctor believed what Melady did was proper medical procedure and “whether or not it was medically necessary.”
Clark concluded her opening statemment by asking jurors to find Melady guilty as charged.
Defense attorney: Paramedic was performing ‘secondary assessment’
Melady’s defense attorney, William Fletcher, in his opening statement, told jurors that Melady put “everything he did in a report he filled out right as he did it.” He said he gave that report to medical personnel at the hospital.
“Right in the middle of that report it says, it says he did a secondary assessment and it includes an examination of the pelvis area and he found no abnormalities,” Fletcher said.
“He put it on a laptop camera because he was worried that somebody might accuse him of something,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher said that Melady had forgotton about it when law enforcement came to talk to him about it.
He said Melady has had years of training as a paramedic, including at Daytona State College and while serving in the Navy in Afghanistan.
Fletcher said no one knew why the woman was unresponsive. Fletcher said the woman was not responding to Narcan, which is used to wake up drug addicts.
“And he thought there might be a continuing source of those narcotics. And he did a pelvis exam, and it’s right there on the form that he filled out on Oct. 17, 2021,” Fletcher told jurors.
Fletcher also told jurors that the definition of sexual battery, includes that “an act done for a bona fide medical purpose is not sexaul battery.”
Ex-Flagler paramedic also accused of fraud involving another patient
Melady was also charged with fraudulent use of personal identification information of a person 60 years of age or older and unlawful possession of a stolen credit card or debit card. In that case, a 93-year-old Palm Coast woman was transported to a hospital on June 7, 2023, after suffering a fall. Melady’s Sam’s Club membership number was used to make purchases at the store using the woman’s debit card, an affidavit stated.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ex-Flagler Fire Rescue Paramedic on trial in sexual battery of patient
Reporting by Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
