Judge Jeff Ashton will not face charges in child abuse investigation

1 year ago 411

State attorney says evidence does not support criminal charges

Judge Jeff Ashton. (Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida)

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jeff Ashton, the prosecutor who handled the Casey Anthony case who is now a judge in Orange and Osceola counties, will not be charged in an investigation into child abuse allegations, according to the state attorney handling the case.

State Attorney Brian Haas, who took over the investigation after State Attorney Andrew Bain recused himself in October, said Friday that the evidence in the case did not support the filing of criminal charges.

Haas also said the person who came forward with the allegations gave “multiple conflicting accounts of the various events that led to the allegations,” and also said during an interview with Haas’ office that they no longer wished to pursue criminal charges.

“Specifically, as to the allegations against Jeffrey Ashton, the incident that she described from many years ago does not include facts that would support a criminal charge under Florida law,” Haas wrote.

The investigation against Ashton was brought to light after Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order on Oct. 11 on his website, announcing that Bain recused himself from the case and that Haas would be assigned to it. Bain asked the case to be reassigned because he works with Ashton in the Ninth Judicial Circuit and saw it as a potential conflict of interest.

The order said the allegations made against Ashton were for lewd and lascivious molestation on a child under 16, and failure to report child abuse.

Ashton is currently a civil judge for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, which handles Orange and Osceola counties. He’s been on the bench since 2019.

Before his time on the bench, he served a four-year term as Orange-Osceola state attorney, but he was defeated in the 2016 election by Aramis Ayala.

Ashton also had a 30-year career as a state prosecutor for the Ninth Circuit, which included handling the 2011 Casey Anthony murder trial for the state. Anthony was found not guilty.

This is a developing story. Stay with News 6 for updates.

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