PALM COAST, Fla. - The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) says an arrest has been made following a sex crimes investigation that began on Monday, December 15, 2025. According to a written release from FCSO the alleged “victim told deputies that they had been sexually battered by a custodial figure.”
The agency’s Community Policing Division and Major Case Unit subsequently took 34-year-old Palm Coast resident Joshua Hawkins into custody. The FCSO alleges that Hawkins, “...not only sexually battered and molested the victim on multiple occasions but also purchased items of a sexual nature and provided them to the victim as gifts. Detectives later met with Hawkins, whose statements supported the allegations against him while significantly downplaying their severity.”
Photo Credit (mugshot): Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility via the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office
Hawkins was taken into custody on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, police say, without incident.
He faces the following charges:
- Sexual Battery of a Minor 12-18 years of age (first degree felony)
- Lewd and Lascivious Molestation of a Victim 12-16 years of age (second degree felony)
Hawkins is being held at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on a $75,000 bond.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This post is based largely on a written release from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. The reader is reminded that all suspects are innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. At the time of this posting no court date has yet been provided.]
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