On September 25th, 2025, LCSO Detective Cody Weaver received information that absconded sexual offender, Joseph Christopher Vanderbush (DOB 1/25/1964), was living in the Williston area.
Vanderbush was previously convicted of Lewd Or Lascivious Molestation on a 12 to 15 year old victim and Providing Obscene Material to a Minor. Vanderbush was incarcerated and served 4 years and 4 months. As a result of his initial guilty adjudication, Vanderbush was required by the Florida State Statute to register as a sexual offender for the remainder of his life.
On October 2nd, 2025, Detective Weaver made contact with Vanderbush at a residence in Williston, where he was interviewed. Following his interview, Detective Weaver placed Vanderbush under arrest and charged him with 2 sexual offender violations. On October 7th, 2025, Detective Weaver was granted a search warrant for Vanderbush’s cellular device. A forensic extraction was performed on the device, which yielded evidence of even more sexual offender violations. On November 5th, 2025, Detective Weaver charged Vanderbush with 4 additional sexual offender violations.
On August 19th, 2026, the Honorable Judge Robert Groeb found Vanderbush guilty of 2 sexual offender violations, and sentenced him to 36 months in the Florida Department of Corrections. Cases such as this highlight the high rates of recidivism for sexual offenders/predators in the State of Florida, as well as the dedication of our law enforcement personnel during each investigation.
