HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. — A now-former deputy with the Hernando County Sheriff's Office was arrested after an investigation found he sexually battered a person, the agency said in a statement.
Zachary Carter was charged Thursday with one count of sexual battery with no serious personal injury after pressuring a person to have sex with him, according to a news release.
The agency says earlier this year, detectives were told that the 30-year-old coerced the person to have sex with him on two different occasions in different locations. Carter was reportedly in uniform and on duty during the incidents.
Carter told the person they would be arrested for failing to comply with his wish, according to the sheriff's office.
After learning this information, the agency said it conducted a "lengthy and thorough criminal investigation." Carter resigned immediately from the sheriff's office after being told of the investigation, which later confirmed the incidents occurred, the agency said.
He turned himself into the Pasco County Detention Center on Thursday and was charged. His bond was set at $10,000.
Carter worked at the sheriff's office from 2018 to 2022 and had no previous disciplinary actions.
"I'm both disappointed and appalled by the actions of this former deputy," Sheriff Al Nienhuis said in a statement. "I hold my employees to the highest standards of conduct and professionalism and will not tolerate any departure from those standards."
The investigation into the incidents is ongoing.