JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Early last month, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it was made aware of allegations of sexual misconduct by a former church youth group leader who also once worked as a nurse at a Jacksonville children’s hospital.
Gregory Norton, 58, was accused of sexually molesting a teen that he met through functions at Oak Hill Church: Church of the Nazarene, according to JSO. The incident reportedly happened years earlier in connection with the Westside church located on Old Middleburg Road.
An arrest report states the alleged sexual abuse happened on multiple occasions inside two homes Norton owned on Blackburn Street, inside a building on Appleton Street, inside a building on Corinthian Avenue, and at various locations inside Norton’s two vehicles.
On Saturday, Norton was arrested and is accused of eight counts of sexual battery that included charges that included another alleged incident that happened more than a decade ago.
JSO said during its investigation, which included multiple interviews, an alleged second victim was also identified. That alleged victim said Norton made unwanted sexual contact after Norton met them while working as a nurse at Wolfson Children’s Hospital. Norton has not worked for the hospital since 2008, Wolfson said in a statement.
“We are deeply committed to the safety of children and families, and our practices and policies reflect our unwavering commitment to their well-being. We are fully cooperating with the JSO’s investigation of this individual, who has not been an employee since 2008. Our hearts go out to those impacted by these unacceptable actions,” a Wolfson hospital spokesperson wrote in a statement.
According to his arrest report, Norton was known to visit the hospital and spend time with patients when he was off duty and was investigated in 2003 after someone came forward to make an unknown complaint against him. That complaint was deemed “unfounded,” a former hospital supervisor told JSO, and that led to him being ordered not to provide care to children while he was under investigation.
Despite warnings from his supervisors to stay away from the hospital when he was not working, in 2008 he was seen in the room of a young patient, JSO said, and the nurse who found them said they both appeared surprised when they were caught. The behavior was described as inappropriate, a hospital employee told JSO, and Norton resigned after a complaint was filed.
Norton was recently working at Westside Baptist but left the church after the allegations surfaced.
In a statement, Westside Baptist said it is cooperating fully with the police investigation.
“Westside is fully committed to ministering in a safe and responsible manner to all our children and youth. We have strong zero-tolerance policies with regard to any form of child molestation or neglect,” the church said in a statement. “Our church will have no further comments regarding this matter, which we believe is being adequately handled by law enforcement.”
Oak Hill Church was not immediately available for comment.
Norton’s wife told News4JAX she was advised by her attorney not to make any statements about the case, but she did say that she believes her husband is innocent.
Norton is being held on a $4 million bond.
Anyone having any additional information in relation to the reported crimes is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500 or JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org.
Sexual battery is a serious criminal charge that can send a person away to prison for life if convicted, especially if the alleged victim is a child.
If you know a child is being sexually abused, you can report it by calling the National Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.