Sheriff: Sarasota deputy used access to find women on social media, sent photo to teen

A now-former Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been arrested after he sent an explicit photo to a 16-year-old girl and used a law enforcement database to find and contact other women online, the agency said in a news release on Wednesday.

Scott Kelly, a 27-year-old Sarasota man, faces one count of distributing obscene material to a minor and five counts of violation of public records law. Kelly was hired by the sheriff’s office in 2018 and worked as a patrol deputy.

The investigation began on March 2 after the the 16-year-old girl’s mother contacted the sheriff’s office. The Sarasota woman reported that her daughter had received an explicit photo from an unknown male deputy. Detectives later found that Kelly had responded to the girl’s home for a call for service in November and was aware of her age. The next day, Kelly reached out to the girl through the messaging app Snapchat.

Kelly later admitted to communicating with the girl for several months over the app, arresting documents say. The exchanges included Kelly sending the girl a photo of his genitalia and a conversation about having sex, Kelly told investigators. The girl told detectives that she became uncomfortable after receiving several explicit photos and blocked Kelly on Snapchat.

As they investigated that incident, detectives also found evidence that Kelly had been frequently abusing access to a law enforcement database. Records showed that Kelly had repeatedly used his access to the Florida Driver and Vehicle Information Database, or DAVID, to look up personal information about various women he encountered. He then found them on social media and attempted to connect with them.

“The majority of Kelly’s search history consisted of young adult females, some of whom he searched multiple times on various dates,” an arrest report said.

In one instance, Kelly ran the plates of a woman’s vehicle in the area of University Parkway and accessed her information, arresting documents say. The woman was not involved in a traffic stop or a call for service.

In November, Kelly contacted the woman through social media, where they exchanged photos and continued to talk for some time. Photos of the woman from the DAVID database were later found on Kelly’s phone.

“This is one of the toughest days for our agency,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Kaitlyn Perez said in a video. “When a public official uses his badge and his uniform to gain personal benefit, it not only reflects on the law enforcement profession but it deeply impacts the men and women who wear the uniform every day and do the job the right way.

“Today is about accountability ... the reflections of one person and decisions of one person do not reflect the majority of our agency.”

Kelly was arrested and resigned on Wednesday. He is held without bond at the Sarasota County Jail.

Anyone with information about the case can call the sheriff’s office at 941-861-4900.

This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 7:51 PM.