Former LCSO aide accused of sexual battery, false arrest released on $120K bond

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LCSO Deputy DUI
File: Lee County Sheriff’s Office Patrol cruiser. Credit: WINK News

A Lee County Sheriff’s Office aide has been fired amid accusations he made a false arrest and coerced the detainee into sex acts.

Ivan De Jesus Moreno was arrested overnight, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said early Friday. His age, address and mugshot haven’t been made public.

Moreno has been terminated for cause, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Tiffany Wood said.

LCSO says Moreno used his civilian position as a community service aid to trick a woman who was panhandling near Corkscrew Road and Tamiami Trail into thinking he was a deputy.

They say he then groped her and forced her to perform oral sex on him

“This kind of behavior is deplorable and we will not tolerate it in our community and certainly not from a member of our agency,” Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott wrote in an emailed statement.

Aides follow up on investigations and respond to non-violent crimes, according to a job description posted on the sheriff’s office Facebook page. The service calls they go out on don’t require the power of arrest.

They aren’t considered law enforcement officers. Moreno is accused of impersonating one during the encounter.

“He betrayed the community’s trust, this offices’ trust and we will not stand for it,” Scott wrote. “We will enforce the laws across the board and continue to seek justice for the victim.”

Moreno faces charges of sexual assault, kidnapping, impersonating a deputy and battery.

He was released Friday night on a $120,000 bond.

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