LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — A Lake County deputy was arrested after he allegedly offered teenage girls an opportunity to make pornographic videos for money.
Lake County deputy Jose Rodriguez was arrested Tuesday evening at his Clermont home after officials said three young girls claimed he offered them an opportunity to make pornographic videos for money.
Investigators said it happened from 2016 to 2019 when the girls were 16 to 17 years old.
Read: Coronavirus: Here’s how to apply for unemployment in Florida
The Sheriff’s Office said it started investigating after one of the girls went to the Clermont Police Department in early March.
She claims while riding with the deputy, “he asked her about her sex life and to describe her underwear.”
According to the report, the accuser said he also propositioned her to make “underground pornography videos for money.”
She said Rodriguez told her he had a friend who makes “underground porn” and that they could “make a lot of money” if they did it.
Other girls came forward and said he told them they could make as much as $500.
Detectives said Rodriguez met the victim and several other teenager girls while on duty as a patrol deputy in the Minneola area.
After meeting the teenagers he would recruit them to work with him at his off-duty job as a compliance inspector for ISN Corporation, which works with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, to make sure stores aren’t selling tobacco products to underage kids.
Officials said the deputy admitted he recruited teenagers for a part time job while on duty as a deputy, but he would not answer further questions.
The Sheriff’s Office said the suspect was on the job for four years and Rodriguez was suspended during the investigation and termination proceedings are underway.
Rodriguez was booked in jail with a $60,000 bail.
© 2020 Cox Media Group
