Jury finds former Flagler County paramedic guilty of sexual battery against woman

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. - A jury determined that a former paramedic – who is accused of sexually battery against a woman in the back of an ambulance – was guilty. 

What we know:

James Melady, a former Flagler County paramedic, was accused of sexual battery and video voyeurism after investigators say he inappropriately touched a woman’s genitals and filmed it while working as a paramedic in Flagler County. His alleged victim was a patient.

In court on Wednesday, a jury found Melady guilty of sexual battery against a woman. The woman was allegedly Melady's patient. 

The jury also found that Melady was not guilty of the second count against him: video voyeurism.

Melady claimed he was merely doing a thorough exam when he filmed himself touching an unconscious patient’s genitals in the back of an ambulance in 2021.

And he says he filmed it because he didn’t have a second paramedic with him, so he wanted documentation of the exam to protect himself.

New protocols

Flagler County Fire Rescue changed its protocols after Melady’s arrest last year, adding cameras in the back of all ambulances, and mandating two personnel have to ride in the back together when transporting patients considered vulnerable or underage.