OKEECHOBEE— An Okeechobee County sheriff’s detective was fired today about a week after an inmate at the county jail accused him of sexual misconduct.

Det. Sgt. T.J. Brock, 51, was fired today, according to sheriff’s Det. Ted Van Deman, the department’s spokesman. Brock was placed on administrative leave on July 3 after the FBI told sheriff’s officials that a 39-year-old woman who has been held in the county jail since April on misdemeanor charges accused the detective of sexual misconduct.

Sheriff’s and FBI officials did not elaborate on the exact nature of the misconduct this week except to say the woman was not raped and the alleged incident at the sheriff’s office, not the jail. The inmate has been transported to another facility while the investigations are under way.

Van Deman said Brock had worked a combined total of 28 years as a law enforcement officer in the county, first for the Okeechobee Police Department and then for the county sheriff’s office.

The state Department of Law Enforcement has taken over the criminal investigation into the woman’s allegations against Brock, Van Deman said.

Staff writer Ana X. Ceron and staff researcher Neils Heimeriks contributed to this story.
~jason_schultz@pbpost.com

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