JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The video attached to this story is from a previous, related report.
Prosecutors have declined to file sexual battery charges against a former Fernandina Beach Police Officer accused of date rape, calling the allegations "unreliable and arguably incredible."
John Lee Finley Jr. was arrested by the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office and fired in June after a woman accused him of drugging her drink and sexually assaulting her as she slept.
According to records provided by the State Attorney's Office, drugs that field tested positive for amphetamine turned out to be a weight loss prescription drug, phentermine, which both Finley and the alleged victim were taking. It also says the woman's story was inconsistent, and that she had a "possible motive -- that is the seeking of attention of a former boyfriend – for to have potentially fabricated the allegations."
Prosecutors say those factors meant there was not a "reasonable probability of conviction" so they were choosing not to file charges in the case.
Court records show the case was closed Nov. 25 and Finley’s GPS ankle monitor removed yesterday.
According to the arrest warrant, a woman was at Finley’s house for a date when he fixed her a drink. Soon after, she said, she began to feel sleepy, and he assaulted her when she was too tired to resist. She told police she left his house after he fell asleep, and later took two “12Panel” drug tests that showed the presence of amphetamines.
Detectives later recovered a cup from Finley’s bedroom that tested positive for amphetamines, according to the warrant. They also found a picture of the alleged victim asleep on Finley’s phone, the warrant said.
Finley was arrested on charges of sexual battery, one charge of battery and one of drug possession, but was not formally charged by the State Attorney's Office.
Among several character references submitted on his behalf are letters from former Macclenny City Manager Gerald Dopson, former Supervisor of Operations for the U.S. Marshals Service in the Middle District of Florida Dan Broome, and several others who worked with Finley’s father, who also worked in law enforcement.
Finley worked with the Baker County Sheriff’s Office before joining the Fernandina Beach Police Department. He was fired shortly after his arrest.
FBPD said he will not be offered his job back, citing his "un-hireable status."