Jay Operations Manager, Recent City Manager Contender Arrested On Sex Offender Violation

July 21, 2026

The Town of Jay’s operations manager—who was recently considered for the town manager position—was arrested Monday morning during a sex offender compliance sweep.

April Burford Watson, 50, was booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail at approximately 10:47 a.m. She is charged with a felony sex offender violation for failure to register as required. As of early Tuesday morning, she was being held without bond.

Watson’s arrest was reportedly part of a morning targeting registered sex offenders accused of violating state registration requirements.

Watson currently serves as the operations manager for the Town of Jay. Earlier this month, she was under consideration to become the next town manager. However, the town council opted on July 7 not to fill the position.

Watson’s requirement to register as a sexual offender stems from an August 2009 arrest. At the time, Watson and another former Jay High School teacher were charged with engaging in unlawful sexual activity with three 17-year-old male students during July and October of 2007.

In April 2010, Watson was found guilty on three counts of unlawful sexual activity with certain minors. She was sentenced to 15 months in state prison, serving one year behind bars. Her sentence was followed by 18 months of community control and five years of probation, along with a lifelong requirement to register as a sexual offender under Florida law.

Comments

3 Responses to “Jay Operations Manager, Recent City Manager Contender Arrested On Sex Offender Violation”

  1. Eck on July 24th, 2026 8:34 am

    Santa Rosa county lets a sex offender manage them. They fire victims of domestic violence. Sounds about right for the backwards good ol boy system here.

  2. AB on July 21st, 2026 11:28 am

    Would you really want this managing your town!?
    I think not! She can’t even do what she’s supposed to do!
    Perv!

  3. Susie on July 21st, 2026 9:14 am

    Welcome to Jay, Fl! Obviously, they have no background checks either. She caused her own problems…once again.





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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News