Whistleblower Lawsuit against Tom Knight???

Tom Knight is at it again. :roll:

SARASOTA COUNTY -- Sarasota sheriff's Sgt. Chris Iorio, who accused Capt. Ron Locke of having sex with a minor, has filed a civil rights lawsuit against Sheriff Tom Knight, claiming that Knight retaliated against him for his whistleblowing.

Last year, Iorio told FDLE that Locke may have molested an underage girl when he was a 25-year-old sheriff's deputy.

FDLE investigated the allegations.

In his complaint filed in circuit court, Iorio alleges he has received threats, hostility and a two-day suspension because of his call to FDLE.

Iorio was suspended for failing to stop two deputies from snickering during an awards presentation.

Iorio's attorney Craig L. Berman said he will depose both Knight and Locke.

"This is a civil rights, whistleblower lawsuit," Berman said. "Unlike many whistleblower suits, Chris was duty-bound by statute to report the child molestation."

"My client is being nit-picked for the actions of junior officers. It's clearly retaliatory," Berman said. "Sgt. Chris Iorio doesn't want anyone else to be retaliated against for doing what the law requires."

A summary of the FDLE investigation said that Locke, who was married at the time, admitted having consensual sex with the girl, who was a neighbor.

The girl's mother told investigators that Locke got her daughter pregnant and paid her $250 to get an abortion. The mother also claimed Locke got to know her children but "took a special interest in her juvenile daughter."

In 2001, Sgt. Iorio was named "Deputy of the Year" by the Sheriff's Office for the large number of cases he handled. Iorio was the lead investigator assigned to the 1997 Sheila Bellush murder case, and was featured on the Discovery Channel and in a book written about the infamous case.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20 ... er-lawsuit

When deputies sue their own sheriff, you know he is hated.

Please take this over to the SSO Forum we have our own problems.