Sex offender accused of kidnapping, rape, fleeing Putnam deputies

Amanda Huffman lives in Palatka and said that after she left for work Wednesday morning, she received a text message from her mother saying deputies were searching their neighborhood.

"My mom messaged me and told me that when she left for work that our entire yard was filled with cops, and they couldn't give her any information at the time, so we didn't know what was going on," said Huffman.

Huffman said she later found out that deputies were searching for her neighbor Darrell Bailey.

She said that a couple weeks ago, she learned that Bailey was a registered sex offender.

"I had already searched him, and since then, I haven't let my kids play outside in weeks because of that," said Huffman.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office said they searched for Bailey for hours Wednesday after he was accused of raping a woman in the east part of the County.

According to the report, Bailey showed up to the woman's home asked to use her phone, held her at knife-point, raped her, then drove her to a store, where she escaped and called 911.

Investigators say they began searching for him, and that the victim was someone he knew.

That's when deputies received a call about a reported carjacking.

They confirmed that Bailey approached an 18-year-old woman in her driveway just before 5 p.m., forced his way into her car and made her drive to a wooded area, where she was able to jump from the car and escape.

Deputies said they spotted him minutes later on State Road 20 and arrested him.

Now, he is facing several charges, including sexual battery, kidnapping, false imprisonment, robbery, battery and fleeing law enforcement.

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Bailey is a registered sexual offender convicted of kidnapping and sexual battery for an incident in 1988 in Taylor County.

Huffman said learning about what Bailey is accused of makes her think about her own safety and the safety of her family, who had been living next to him.

"It's just terrifying, because you never know you never know what's living next to you," said Huffman.

Cox Media Group