A Villager is buying out of community service in a plea deal in a voter fraud cased dating back to the 2020 presidential election.
John Rider, 62, a resident of the Village of Virginia Trace, cast his ballot in person during early voting Oct. 28, 2020 in Sumter County. He also cast an absentee ballot in New York, according to an arrest document. At the time, he was registered as a voter with No Party Affiliation in Sumter County.
He was arrested in 2021 on a felony charge of casting more than one ballot in an election.
Rider entered into a pre-trial intervention contract earlier this month in Sumter County Court. As part of the contract, Rider has agreed to perform 50 hours of community service, but was allowed buy out at the rate of $10 per hour. In a followup fax message to the court, Rider indicated he intends to use bond money from the case to buy out of community service. The remainder of the bond money will be refunded to him.