A 62-year-old janitor who has worked for the Duval County School district for almost 30 years is behind bars on multiple charges of capital sexual battery.
Wayne Willis Williams was arrested Nov. 9 on five counts of sexual battery on the same person over multiple years. He also was charged with one count of kidnapping, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.
Williams has worked in at least 10 elementary and high schools in Duval County over three decades, Lt. Jacob Vorpahl said during a news conference.
Although the first tips about the suspect did not involve children, Special Assault Unit detectives learned there were “highly questionable and likely criminal interactions" between Williams and students at some of the schools, Vorpahl said.
Police did not specify what those "interactions" were or whether students might have been sexually battered.
"From information we have been able to obtain thus far after interviewing multiple people, there are indications that the suspect has engaged in this type of activity going back as far as the early '90s,” the investigator said.
Police released this list of Duval County schools where Williams has worked. There may be others, they said.
- William Raines High School.
- Kirby Smith Middle School.
- Brentwood Elementary School.
- Matthew Gilbert Middle School.
- Louis Sheffield Elementary School.
- San Mateo Elementary School.
- Biscayne Elementary School.
- First Coast High School.
- Highlands High School.
- Ramona Elementary School.
Williams remains in the Duval County jail without bond, his arraignment set for Nov. 30, court records show.
The sexual battery charges carry potential life sentences, Vorpahl said.
Vorpahl believes there could be more victims who were children when assaults occurred. He asks potential victims, or anyone who might have seen something, to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (904) 630-0500.
Police have the primary responsibility to investigate sexual batteries in schools, Vorpahl said.
Willis has no prior arrest record for sexual battery but was arrested in 1998 on an aggravated battery charge that was dropped, court records show.
