Deputy told friend accused of performing sex acts with child to run, Florida cops say
A deputy warned a friend accused of performing sex acts with a child that he had a warrant out for his arrest and told him to flee, according to a Florida sheriff.
Deputy Arturo Dominguez, 30, was fired from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office and charged with four felonies, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez said during a news conference on June 1.
A detective in neighboring Okeechobee County noticed Dominguez had used a law enforcement database to “repeatedly” run the name of Omar Ayala, a suspect the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office had charged with “sexual activity with a minor,” officials say.
Dominguez told the detective that he had run Ayala’s name because he’d pulled him over for a traffic stop, deputies say.
But that was a “flat out lie,” Lopez said. “There was no traffic stop.”
Investigators found that Dominguez and Ayala were “lifelong, childhood friends” and that Dominguez had looked up his name in order to “give him a heads up” that the police were looking for him, Lopez said.
He is also accused of telling the suspect to flee.
“That’s pretty disgusting,” Lopez said. “That’s pretty sick. We’re here to protect and serve, not to aid and abet anyone, especially a crime of this nature. We are here to protect our children.”
Lopez also said Dominguez violated the public’s trust.
Contact information for Dominguez could not be found online. Attorney information was not available online.
Along with being fired, Dominguez was arrested May 31 and charged with “unauthorized access to computers and devices, official misconduct by obstructing an investigation, disclosure or use of confidential criminal justice information and accessory after the fact to unlawful sexual activity with a minor,” according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators began looking into Ayala after the mother of a high school student found “disturbing text messages and pictures” sent between her daughter and Ayala on her daughter’s cellphone, according to a report from the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office. Ayala was the coach of her daughter’s cross-country team at the time, the report says.
Detectives found “explicit images and videos” were sent between the two, according to the report.
Investigators also found the girl was under 18 years old when the communication started, according to Corporal Jack Nash of the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office. Ayala is 31.
Authorities issued a warrant for Ayala’s arrest on April 19 on a charge of sexual activity with a minor, according to the warrant.
Ayala is still at large, and officials believe he is no longer in Okeechobee County, according to Nash. The U.S. Marshals Service is actively looking for him.
Ayala was a “mentor and soccer coach” for many girls, and Nash asked that parents speak with their children if they think he may have had contact with their kids.
Nash also asked the public to help authorities locate Ayala.
Osceola County is in central Florida, with Okeechobee County located directly to the south.
Police officer drove drunk to pick daughter up at elementary school, Florida cops say
Teacher had condoms, Truly seltzers for sex acts with teen, feds say. FBI agent awaited
Cop arrested after ex-girlfriend finds hidden camera in her home, Texas officials say
