Retired ACPS Carpenter Arrested for Sex Crimes Against Child
The Incident Occurred in the Home and is Unconnected to John Nyitray’s Former Employment Status.
On September 19, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) deputies arrested High Springs resident John Robert Nyitray, 61, on a warrant for child molestation.
On April 21, ACSO produced a sworn complaint charging Nyitray, court records show.
Nyitray’s case was made public in the court records system by May 20.
Nyitray’s case was open until prosecutors dropped it on July 8, but they refiled on September 16, court records show.
According to Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) Communications Director Jackie Johnson, Nyitray was employed with the school district as a carpenter in the Maintenance and Operations Department from June 4, 2007, until his retirement on June 2, 2025. This means Nyitray was working as an ACPS employee with an open criminal case for nearly two weeks after it was publicized in court records and over a month after the sworn complaint was written.
GnvInfo asked Johnson why Nyitray was employed with a pending sworn complaint and if he had contact with kids on school grounds or took part in any extracurricular activities that involved caring for children.
Johnson stated, “The district was not notified about the writing or filing of a sworn complaint... Mr. Nitray's job duties would typically have entailed being on school grounds during the school day. We do not have any record of him volunteering at a school.”
Johnson added that ACPS didn’t know about Nyitray’s case until his arrest.
GnvInfo asked ACSO why they didn’t tell ACPS about their investigation into Nyitray. Public Information Officer Chris Sims said ACSO didn’t have information on Nyitray’s employment status because he refused to interview with a detective.
Nyitray’s sex crime case isn’t the first time he’s run into trouble with the law.
Court records show Nyitray was charged with aggravated assault in 1986, but prosecutors didn’t pursue the case.
In 2011, Nyitray was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery via sworn complaint but not arrested due to a lack of evidence. The State Attorney’s Office didn’t prosecute the case, with court records stating the victim declined to pursue charges.
“The district is not typically notified about sworn complaints,” said Johnson.
Nyitray continued his employment at ACPS after being arrested in 2016 for drunkenly assaulting a police officer and conviction the following year. The case was initially charged as a felony, resisting arrest with violence, but later downgraded to a misdemeanor, resisting arrest without violence. Judge Susan Miller Jones accepted a plea deal where Nyitray was convicted of resisting arrest without violence and sentenced to one day in jail with one day credit for time served and no probation time. The arrest report suggests Nyitray was driving drunk but he wasn’t charged with a DUI.
Johnson said, “All employees undergo background screening and drug testing and must meet the requirements outlined in state law to be hired or maintain their employment, including guidelines related to arrests or charges.”
Florida law doesn’t outline resisting arrest without violence as an offense that prohibits adults from working in schools, only resisting arrest with violence.
Nyitray has a further criminal record outside Alachua County, as his first appearance pretrial investigation summary states he’s received six misdemeanor adjudications, and Alachua County court records only show two misdemeanor cases. The document indicates Nyitray's out-of-county cases occurred between 1985 and 2001.
The Alachua County Jail is holding Nyitray without bond following a pretrial detention motion by the State Attorney’s Office that was granted by Judge James Colaw.
