SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A longtime lieutenant with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office was terminated after he was accused of sending lewd text messages to a probationary detention deputy who worked the jail.
According to the internal investigation’s findings, Lt. Charles Albrecht violated department policy. Albrecht worked for the sheriff’s office for more than two decades.
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According to the internal affairs report, on Dec. 16, 2022, Albrecht reached out to newly hired detention deputy, who he knew for seven years, and engaged him in a series of graphic text messages.
The next day, investigators said Albrecht sent a text apologizing to the detention deputy for being so forward and blamed it on consuming alcohol.
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When asked if he believed his actions were in violation of sheriff’s office general orders, Albrecht said that if he viewed the violation through the lens of a lieutenant and an employee, then yes, but if viewed through the lens of Charlie [Albrecht] and his friend just having another conversation, “I don’t think I did.”
That response ultimately led to Albrecht’s termination. Under general order, employees are to conduct themselves at all times, both on and off duty, in such a manner as to reflect favorably on the sheriff’s office.
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All of this came up during a deposition during a criminal trial for the detention deputy in question after he was fired in March after he was arrested on felony charges.
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