BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— A candidate running to represent the Lake Region on the Clay County Commission is denying allegations that he committed lewd and lascivious assault on a girl under 16.
Even before Dale Carter officially qualified for the District 4 County Commission Seat, now held by Crystal Lake resident Betsy Condon, rumors were swirling in his Clay Hill community about his checkered past and allegations of sexual misconduct with an underaged girl.
On June 15 Carter posted on his Facebook page that a newspaper was about to print a story on his criminal history, including charges related to passing bad checks, liens filed by the IRS and a lawyer and the sex allegations.
“They dug up some things I done [sic] 20 years ago,” Carter wrote in the post. “Evidently my company, which I own, wrote a couple of NSF checks. I took care of the checks but they are on my record along with me having a lien from the IRS from 2005 along with an attorney that I hired who is now a judge in Clay County who is part of the movers & shakers of Clay County.”
“Last but not least, they are saying I had been with someone underage, THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED,” he added.
The story in the Fleming Island-based publication never appeared. However, in August the Florida Center for Government Accountability published a story claiming the 51-year-old has logged more than 50 traffic tickets, has been accused of writing worthless checks, engaged in false advertising as a licensed contractor, illegally transported hazardous materials and failed to appear in court. The story claimed his most recent legal entanglement was a February charge of doing business without a license.
The story also detailed the alleged sexual misconduct, stating that a 22-year-old told Clay deputies Carter had sex with her for several years, starting when she was 14 or 15 years old.
“Clay sheriff’s Det. Ryan Ellis wrote in a later report that there was probable cause to charge Carter with lewd or lascivious assault on a victim less than 16 years old,” Susan Clark Armstrong wrote in the story. “But when Ellis referred the case to the State Attorney’s Office, it was determined that the statute of limitations had expired on the crime and no charges were filed.”
Just before the Florida Center for Government Accountability published the story, Carter said he received a message from Armstrong threatening to go public with the piece if he did not withdraw from the race.
“This is the SECOND time this reporter has said this (isn’t that blackmail?!),” Carter wrote on a social media post. “Ladies & gentlemen, I have told you I have a past and have been ACCUSED of a lot of things, but I have NEVER served a day or night in jail. She keeps going back to my past, focusing on the negative things and not looking at all the positive things I have tried to do for Clay County.”
Some of the positive things Carter points out are his advocacy for senior citizens, his role in organizing the annual Middleburg Christmas parade, and his position as a founder in the Clay County Business Association.
“If I am elected, I plan on taking half of my first years [sic] pay to build a handicap playground at one of our parks,” he wrote. “I am doing this for Clay County, not the money.”
