A mother from St. Augustine expresses her relief after Ethan Todd, who was found guilty of sexually abusing her 14-year-old daughter, has been rearrested for breaching his probation.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A mother in St. Augustine states that she feels a sense of relief now that the man convicted of abusing her daughter is incarcerated once again.
Lynn Salvatore recounts how her daughter was only 14 when she disclosed the abuse perpetrated by a trusted neighbor, someone the family had once considered a friend.
“When she was 14, she revealed the extensive abuse,” said Salvatore. “He was also the father of two of her little friends whom she regularly visited.”
In 2018, 59-year-old Ethan Todd was found guilty of two counts of sexual battery and two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison followed by five years of probation, with a lifelong requirement to register as a sex offender.
Salvatore said she has followed his status closely through Florida’s victim notification system, known as VINE.
“I get a notification every time he’s released from custody, taken into custody, even if he’s moved from one facility to another,” Salvatore said.
On Oct. 6, Salvatore received one of those alerts. This time notifying her Todd had been taken back into custody for violating his probation.
“I assumed it was for that reason since my daughter and I had informed his probation officer the week before, suspecting he had attempted to contact her,” Salvatore explained. “I felt a great sense of relief. As soon as I received the notification, I contacted my daughter, who was very happy that he’s in custody again.”
Salvatore said her daughter had recently received a message on TikTok from a user whose screen name included Todd’s nickname, leading them to fear he was trying to reach out again. They reported the incident to authorities, prompting a warrantless search of Todd’s vehicle and phone.
“When they did the search, that’s when they found at least three violations unrelated to what we reported,” Salvatore said.
Court records show Todd was carrying several knives, including tactical and folding blades. Investigators also discovered videos of an underage girl taken without her knowledge and determined that Todd had accessed the internet, another violation of his probation terms.
“There’s nothing in this world that can make up for what he did to my daughter,” Salvatore said. “I just hope I never meet him on the street.”
Todd remains in the Duval County Jail with no bond. His next court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 20.
“My daughter and I are just very, very happy that right now he’s in jail,” Salvatore said.
