Staff report from Alachua County Sheriff’s Office social media post

HAWTHORNE, Fla. – During the late evening hours of April 14, Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to SE 215th Terrace in Hawthorne to conduct a well-being check on 36-year-old Ashley Creel due to concern for her mental well-being. When law enforcement arrived, they learned that Creel had witnessed her husband, 39-year-old Jonathan Eugene Williams, and a juvenile victim engaged in sexual activity earlier in the day.

The juvenile victim was interviewed and disclosed that they were sexually abused by Williams multiple times over the last several months.

Williams was located by deputies the same day and arrested on an unrelated civil writ. After being interviewed by Detective M. Adkins about the incident, Williams was charged with two counts of sexual battery by a custodian and one count of lewd or lascivious molestation. Williams’s cell phone was also seized.

An examination of Williams’s cell phone revealed messages between Williams and Creel discussing the sexual assault and Creel’s anger with Williams about the incident; Creel did not report the abuse to law enforcement until approximately 21 hours after the assault occurred. Law enforcement only learned about the incident because of the call for service to conduct a well-being check on Creel and her responses to questions asked by the responding deputy.

On May 19, Det. Adkins learned that Williams and Creel had attended the juvenile victim’s sporting event on April 14, after Creel witnessed the incident. Creel left the event early, leaving the victim alone and in the care of Williams, aware that he had previously sexually assaulted the juvenile.

Creel was arrested on May 20 and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm and failure to report suspected child abuse.

Creel is being held on $400,000 bail. Williams is being held without bail.