A former Flagler County Fire Rescue paramedic was found guilty Thursday of raping an unconscious patient in the back of an ambulance in 2021, prosecutors said.

After a three-day trial, a Flagler County jury found James Tyler Melady, 38, guilty of sexual battery by a person 18 years or older on a person 18 years or older, according to the State Attorney’s Office for the Seventh Judicial Circuit.

Prosecutors said the assault occurred in October 2021 while Melady was working as a paramedic and transporting the victim.

“The defendant not only abused our victim — he abused the position he held as a first responder,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a statement. “His sentence should reflect the damage he did to our victim and to the profession he shamed.”

The case was investigated by the

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