- March 5, 2025
A Palm Coast man was arrested Friday on charges of raping of a woman in Flagler Beach as she walked from the beach to her friend’s home at around 3 a.m. Friday.
James Matthew McDevitt, 21, is accused of choking and raping the 38-year-old woman, who told deputies that she was walking away from the beach and crying after getting into an argument with her boyfriend. She passed by a group of people, including McDevitt, who asked her what was wrong and offered to walk her to her friend’s home.
She said that as they approached South 14th Street, McDevitt dragged her into an empty lot, forced her to the ground and raped her.
Deputies from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office responded after hearing reports of a physical disturbance and detained McDevitt on the scene. They found the victim on the ground with her belongings spread around her. She had dirt in her mouth and around her lips as well as embedded in her nostrils. As deputies spoke with the victim, she repeatedly pointed at McDevitt and said he raped her, according to police documents.
McDevitt was found with several scrapes on his body, scratch marks on his neck and what appeared to be a bite mark on his right cheekbone. He told deputies that as he walked with the victim, she bit him in the face and then led him to the empty lot and suggested they have intercourse.
McDevitt said he agreed, but then saw lights and thought it was the victim’s friend, so he decided to leave. However, the lights he saw were from sheriff’s deputies, who then detained him.
The man who reported the incident said he saw the two walking north on the corner of Central Avenue and South 12th Street when he heard the victim scream but couldn’t understand what she was saying. He then saw McDevitt put his hand over the victim’s mouth, at which point the witness went inside his house to get his cell phone to call 911. As he returned outside, he said he saw McDevitt dragging the victim into an empty lot.
McDevitt was placed under arrest on charges of battery and sexual battery causing great bodily harm. He remained in jail Tuesday on $101,000 bail.
