Staff Report

HAWTHORNE, Fla. – In a troubling development, 21-year-old Austen William Cassels faces charges in connection with two separate cases of sexual battery involving a juvenile victim.

The first incident dates back to when Cassels himself was a minor. However, authorities are now prosecuting him as an adult. Although these alleged incidents occurred several years ago, they only came to light last year when the victim reported the abuse.

During an interview conducted by the Child Protection Team, the victim recounted two instances of sexual battery that took place while she was in elementary school. Cassels has been charged with sexual battery, with the crime involving an offender under 18 and a victim under 12. Following a Miranda warning, Cassels reportedly claimed he could not recall one of the incidents and denied any involvement in the other.

The second case emerged several years after the first, with Cassels being an adult at the time, and the victim then attending middle school. In this instance, the victim presented a text message in which Cassels allegedly promised to perform a favor and provide money in exchange for sexual acts. The text exchange reportedly occurred a few months following an alleged molestation incident involving Cassels and the victim.

In the second case, Cassels has been charged with lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim under the age of 16 and use of an electronic device to solicit a child. Post Miranda, Cassels reportedly said he didn’t remember any communication with the victim about sexual activity, but he then admitted he may have “said some things to her” when he was drunk or high. He denied sexually battering the victim.

Cassels has at least nine felony convictions (non-violent) and has served two state prison sentences, one of which was for a 2022 case in which he was convicted of burglary and seven counts of firearm theft. After the investigations for the sexual battery cases were complete, warrants for his arrest were issued, but he has been in state prison since April 2024 on a Baker County case. He was released from prison on December 1 and immediately arrested and booked into the Alachua County Jail.

The Baker County arrest violated Cassels’ probation in the 2022 case, so he is also being held for violating probation. Judge James Colaw ordered him held without bail until trial on the sexual battery cases.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.