Man accused of inappropriately touching, performing sex acts on children, deputies say

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — The Marion County Sheriff’s Office said a man is accused of inappropriately touching and performing sex acts on two children.

Deputies said Keith Turner is facing charges of sex battery involving two children.

At the time of the abuse, both children were under the age of 12 and investigators believe there could be more victims.

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The Marion County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson explained how deputies were alerted to the case.

“A family member had received a letter from the juvenile, indicating that she had been touched inappropriately by our suspect, Keith Turner,” the spokesperson said.

Officials said the family member contacted deputies and that’s when they began investigating.

“We believe the abuse began when the victim was approximately 7-8 years old and continued for the next eight to 10 years,” the spokesperson said.

While investigating the first allegation, officials said they learned about another victim.

The allegations in that case are similar to those in the first one.

However, deputies believe there could be even more victims.

“We are concerned that there could potentially be more victims, and we are asking anyone who may be a victim, or thinks they may know someone who could be a victim, to reach out to our office,” the spokesperson said.

Channel 9 learned Turner worked for the Department of Corrections.

The agency released this statement:

<span class="wsc-grammar-problem" data-grammar-phrase='"' data-grammar-rule="EN_QUOTES" data-wsc-lang="en_US">"</span>The Sheriff's findings in this case against Mr. Turner are abhorrent and in complete contrast to the values and integrity held by our staff. We are moving forward with his immediate dismissal.<span class="wsc-grammar-problem" data-grammar-phrase='"' data-grammar-rule="EN_QUOTES" data-wsc-lang="en_US">"</span>