Penny Dane, Fla. police sergeant, resigns after nude pics found, report says
(CBS) DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A Daytona Beach Police Sergeant has resigned after she admitted posting nude pictures of herself online while on-duty, CBS affiliate WKMG reports.
PICTURES: Fla. police sergeant resigns over nude pics
Sgt. Penny Dane, who worked in law enforcement for approximately 18 years, admitted to accessing and sending sexually explicit pictures as part of an online game called "Red Light Center," the station reports. The game is likened to a virtual sex club and resembles Amsterdam's Red Light district, according to WKMG.
The sergeant allegedly admitted to investigators that she e-mailed the images to her lover while on the job.
"It's something in my 26 years in law enforcement that I've never seen," said Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood, according to the station.
Chitwood said he was flabbergasted after viewing the nearly 300 photos and videos that Sgt. Dane accessed using her city-owned computers. He described the photos as "extremely pornographic in nature" and said that Sgt. Dane was in her uniform in several of the pictures.
Chitwood said Sgt. Dane also intentionally turned off the GPS tracking device in her patrol car so no one would know where she was while she got online and accessed the photos for hours, all while she was supposed to be supervising other officers on patrol.
"As we got into that hard drive, it was just mind boggling that you could be out of service for that long and just think you could get away with it," said Chitwood.
In fact, Dane did get away with it since 2009, but Chief Chitwood said the majority of the pictures were accessed in just the past few months.
According to the station, investigators were tipped off by Dane herself when she accused another officer of sexual harassment. After a review of her own e-mails, the self-incriminating evidence was discovered. Chitwood said Dane's sexual harassment claims later proved false.
Sgt. Dane also allegedly told investigators she was able to multi-task while on the job, and as she accessed all of those images, she never missed a call.
