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A Florida town manager candidate who was convicted of having sexual relationships with three high school boys landed back behind bars this week for violating sex offender registry requirements.
April Watson’s bid to become the Town of Jay’s manager – a step up from her most recent role as operations manager for the 525-person panhandle town – was left in limbo Monday after she was nabbed during a “sex offender registry violation roundup” by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.
The 50-year-old former teacher – who reportedly served a year in prison after she was convicted of hooking up with three Jay High School students in 2007 – was cuffed again this week after failing to notify authorities that she was staying at an RV park about 45 minutes away from Jay City Hall, according to an arrest report obtained by WEAR News.
April Watson, 50, was nabbed during a “sex offender registry violation roundup” by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office on Monday. Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office“It was recently brought to my attention April Watson stayed at Splash RV Resort located at 8500 Welcome Church Road, Milton, Florida,” an investigator noted in the report – which said Watson resided at the park from May 29 to June 5.
“Watson did not register this as a temporary address,” the document read. “This information was confirmed through Splash RV Resort.”
Convicted predators in the Sunshine State can face felony charges for failing to tell their local sheriff’s office when they switch addresses, jobs, phone numbers or cars, according to CBS News 12.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office conducts “sweeps” to find such scofflaw sex offenders several times every year, the outlet reported, and said that the office declined to share how many people were caught during the latest operation or the specific charges brought against Watson.
The Jay Town Council voted to suspend Watson with pay on Monday, but noted it had “limited information about the charges against Ms. Watson or any of the facts and circumstances which led to this arrest.”
“The Town is currently working to gather information and will make a decision on how to proceed based on a thorough review of all the facts and circumstances,” Jay leadership wrote in a statement released Tuesday. “After a review is completed, the Council will determine what additional actions are needed.”
Just last month, the Council decided to delay a vote on Watson’s selection for manager – despite Jay Mayor Shon Owens confirming to the Pensacola News Journal that she was on track to fulfill the role.
“There is a great deal of confidence within the community in her ability,” Owens told the outlet on July 3. “She’s the right person for the job.”
The mayor seemed less positive about those plans in the wake of her arrest this week – bluntly telling WEAR News in a text message that town leadership was “waiting for more information” before weighing their options.
Watson, who was promoted to town operations manager in September last year, had come a long way since August 2009, when she and another female teacher at the local high school were reportedly arrested for having sexual intercourse with minors.
The Jay Town Council voted to suspend Watson with pay on Monday. Gregg Pachkowski/Pensacola News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesThe tryst involved both educators engaging in sexual relationships with three 17-year-old male students over a four month period in 2007, when Watson was 31 years old, the Pensacola News Journal reported.
She pleaded no contest in 2010 and served 12 out of her 15-month prison sentence before being required to register as a sex offender.
Watson, who’s checked in with Santa Rosa County authorities approximately 75 times in the past 15 years – including as recently as July 9 – was released from jail after making her $2,500 bond late Tuesday, WEAR News reported.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office and Watson did not respond to messages from The Post.
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