Jujitsu instructor guilty of raping his student while working as a nurse at Halifax

A jujitsu instructor who had one of his then-teenage students meet him at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach where he worked as a nurse and then raped her was convicted by a jury of sexual battery.

Joel Gingery, 58, was found guilty on Wednesday of two counts of sexual battery after a jury deliberated for about two and a half hours. Gingery was found not guilty of false imprisonment.

Circuit Judge Elizabeth Blackburn revoked Gingery's bond and remanded him into custody. Gingery is being held at the Volusia County Branch Jail while he awaits a sentencing date.

Gingery faces up to 30 years in prison.

Employed by University of Florida

Gingery was employed by the University of Florida as a nurse anesthetist who was working at Halifax Health Medical Center when he was arrested after being accused of raping the young woman in 2022. Gingery was terminated as a UF employee on Sept. 24, 2022, and his access to Halifax was revoked, a UF spokesman wrote Tuesday.

The woman testified on Tuesday that she was 18 on Aug. 21, 2022 when she got a call from Gingery asking her to meet him at Halifax Health Medical Center. She said she thought it was to discuss Gingery sponsoring her financially in jujitsu competitions. The woman had started attending Gingery's Trident Jiu Jitsu school in Ormond Beach when she was 16.

The woman testified that once at the hospital Gingery led her to an on-call room, blocked the door with a table and raped her. She testified she tried to get away from Gingery and told him "no" but that didn't stop him. The woman testified she was fearful. She said that Gingery was bigger than her and she did not believe she could do anything to stop him.

Defendant: Encounter was consensual

But Gingery took the stand on Wednesday and testified that he and the then 18-year-old were having consensual sex.

He said that his fiancée at the time, Jessie Grace, had become close friends with the woman. Grace also taught at Trident Jiu Jitsu. She said the woman would sometimes stay at Grace’s residence.

He said the woman had asked him at the jujitsu studio if she could talk to him privately and he had declined. Gingery said he and his fiancée had been fighting over the woman.

But Gingery said that he met the woman at Halifax Health Medical Center while he was working a 24-hour shift. He called her that night about 9:30 or 9:45 p.m. on August 21, 2022 and she drove to the hospital.

Gingery described checking the hallways to make sure the other person working a 24-hour shift would not see them. He said he led her to the on-call room and latched the door and then used a hospital-style table to block the door so no one could come in.

He said the woman started hugging him and then they started kissing and then engaged in consensual sexual acts including intercourse.

Prosecutors played a recorded phone call on Tuesday in which Gingery apologized to the woman and told her it would never happen again.

Gingery's defense attorney, Michael Lambert, asked him what he was sorry about. Gingery said that she had just had sex with her best friend’s fiancé.

Lambert asked Gingery why he asked the woman if she had told anyone. Gingery said he asked because if Grace found out he would lose his half interest in Trident Jiu Jitsu.

“I thought I was going to lose my fianceé and I thought I was going to lose my gym,” he said.

Lambert asked him about promising the woman it would never happen again. Gingery said he meant that he would never have her come to the hospital or have sex with her again.

Assistant State Attorney Helen Schwartz cross-examined Gingery, asking about a clause in the contract with Grace over Trident Jiu Jitsu. Gingery said the clause stated that if one of them was unfaithful, that person would have to give their half-interest in the school to the other person. Gingery said he no longer had an interest in the school.

“That was put in the contract because Jessie didn’t trust you?” Schwartz asked.

Lambert objected and Blackburn sustained the objection.

Gingery denied telling the woman anything about funding her jujitsu competition.

He denied inviting the woman to Halifax so that he could have sex with her.

“There was consensual sex and we said goodbye,” Gingery said.

Schwartz then listed five calls Gingery made to the woman after she left the hospital at 10:47 p.m. The woman did not answer any of the calls.

The woman testified earlier in the trial that she called a friend after leaving the hospital and the friend's mother told her to go to another hospital. The friend's mother testified during the trial and said the woman was upset and crying.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Jujitsu instructor guilty of raping his student at Halifax Health