Orange City Sex Offender Suspected In Rape Turns Himself In

A convicted sex offender wanted on charges of kidnapping, drugging and raping a woman near Orange City has been arrested, a Volusia County Sheriff's Office spokesman said Wednesday.Jason Minton, 39, of Orange City, turned himself in Tuesday night at the Volusia County Branch Jail where he is being held without bail on charges of kidnapping and sexual battery, said sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson.The 20-year-old woman said she met Jason Minton on July 6 and agreed to go out with him for dinner, but Minton instead took her to a bar where he bought her several drinks, sheriff's investigators said.After leaving the bar, Minton took the woman to his home in the 200 block of West Minnesota Avenue home and forced an unknown pill down her throat, Davidson said.As the incapacitated woman faded in and out of consciousness, she realized Minton was sexually battering her, according to the Sheriff's Office.Eventually, the woman who able to escape and run to her home, and a relative took her to the hospital, Davidson said.Minton has not been seen since July 6 but turned himself in to authorities at the jail in Daytona Beach, Davidson said.Records show Minton was convicted in 2006 of principal to lewd assault/sexual battery on a victim under the age of 16 and failing to register as a sex offender.