Deputies: Corrections officer resigns after posting inappropriate photos of himself online

SANFORD, Fla. — A corrections officer resigned Wednesday after posting inappropriate photographs of himself online, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.

Seminole County Capt. Joseph Klinger resigned after learning he was being investigated for publicly posting the photos on Craigslist, Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kim Cannaday said.

Klinger was assigned to the Sheriff's Office's Department of Corrections as a corrections supervisor, Cannaday said.

The Sheriff's Office said Klinger was hired by the agency in 2010 and was promoted from lieutenant to captain in December.

"I am extremely disappointed in Klinger's actions, which are contrary to our agency’s core values," Sheriff Dennis Lemma said in an emailed statement.

Channel 9 learned Friday that a woman who responded to the Craigslist ad is a deputy who worked under Klinger.

Records said the pair agreed to meet in the parking lot of a Publix grocery store near the jail where they worked.

"So when he arrived, did you recognize him?" an investigator asked the female deputy.

"As soon as he got into the car," she said.

The woman said she and Klinger "fooled around," but didn't have sexual intercourse, records said. She told investigators that Klinger sent her nude photos of himself, documents said.

"So what was the purpose of meeting with Capt. Klinger in the parking lot?" an investigator asked the woman.

"To meet and see if there was going to be anything further," she said.

The Sheriff's Office said Klinger was in his department-issued vehicle, but neither deputy was on the clock during the rendezvous. The woman won't face discipline because of that.

Klinger received a written reprimand in 2011 after he posted inappropriate photos of himself on Adult FriendFinder under the username jbchicago, records said.

"As a law enforcement officer, you should have known that this action could not only reflect negatively upon the Sheriff's Office and you, but also but also be used to discredit you," Seminole County Chief Penny Fleming said at the time.

Klinger was called neglectful for engaging in more than 350 text messages while on-duty at a hospital, the reprimand said.

He also received a written reprimand in 2011 after failing to attend a taser recertification training class, records said.

Cox Media Group