Florida deputy arrested on child sex battery charges accused of urinating in girl's mouth
PENSACOLA, Fla. – An Escambia County Sheriff's Office deputy who was arrested last week is accused of urinating into the mouth of a young girl multiple times over the span of nearly two years.
Jerome Zaid, 33, was arrested Friday and charged with one count of battery of a child and one count of sexual battery of a child under 12 years of age.
A warrant for his arrest, released Monday morning, details several instances where Zaid allegedly urinated into the mouth of girl, now age 5, from October 2017 through July 2019.
ECSO spokesman Maj. Andrew Hobbs on Friday confirmed Zaid was a deputy with the Sheriff's Office and said, "We are in the process of terminating his employment with the Sheriff's Office."
Hobb said that once the Sheriff's Office was made aware of the allegations against Zaid, the agency turned over the case to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The warrant for Zaid's arrest was both written and served by FDLE, which is the lead investigatory agency on the case.
Because the investigation is being conducted by another agency, officers from his precinct declined to comment further on Monday.
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The girl underwent a forensic interview on July 22, according to Zaid's arrest warrant. During her interview, she said that when she was left alone with Zaid, he would place his private part into her mouth and urinate, the report stated.
She told investigators that Zaid would then instruct her to brush her teeth, the report stated.
The girl recounted the incidents typically occurred in the bathroom, except for one time when she had been wearing a yellow tutu butterfly costume, the report stated.
Investigators later obtained a statement from a person who verified the girl had dressed as a butterfly for Halloween when she was 3 years old and had been left alone with Zaid not long after Halloween that year.
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The girl told investigators the last time an incident had occurred was when she had been left alone with Zaid earlier this month on July 17. At that time, the girl was 5 years old.
Again, investigators obtained a statement from an unnamed person who verified that the child had been under Zaid's supervision at that time.
County records indicate Zaid was booked into the Escambia County Jail at 5:42 p.m. Friday without bond. As of 11:20 a.m. Monday morning, he remained in custody.
Zaid's mugshot is exempt from release under Florida law because he is a law enforcement officer.
Follow Colin Warren-Hicks on Twitter: @CWarrenHicks.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida deputy accused of urinating in child's mouth
