Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has arrested one of their own. They say Deputy Martin Allen allegedly had sexual conversations with someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl
According to the arrest report, Allen is charged with lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor.
Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell says interactions between Allen and who he thought was a teenaged girl using the name “Mandy” started over an online messaging app. But, there was no teen on either end of the conversation.
“A citizen was on a social media site portraying themselves as a fifteen-year-old girl, while chatting with a man,” said Sheriff Prummell.
Allen was actually talking to Lee Bassett.
“Ten months I’ve been chatting with this dude,” said Bassett.
Bassett and his girlfriend Reba Freeman run the Facebook Group Southwest Florida Exposure, where they focus on exposing alleged predators like Allen who they believe are preying on children and teens.
“If these people think that we’re going to be the ones on the other side of the phone, it’s going to stop them from trying to talk to kids. I can’t change the way people think, but I can change the way they act,” he said.
Bassett says as soon as he found out Allen was a deputy, he contacted CCSO. That’s when Prummell says investigators took over the conversation.
“Allen’s conversation became sexual in nature from sleeping nude together to taking showers or giving massages,” he said.
Sheriff Prummell added Allen asked the teen to live with him, and send nude photos of herself. Sunday night investigators set up a time to meet. When Allen arrived at the designated location, detectives arrested him. Freeman says it’s one less person to worry about.
“It’s just another person that’s off the street, away from children,” she said.
The Sheriff’s Office says as of Monday night, there are no other known victims. Sheriff Prummell says most of Allen’s conversations with the teen happened while he was on the clock.
