Osceola Sheriff Marcos Lopez Charged With Making Lewd Comment On Nude Photo Of Civilian Employee

Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez is accused of making a lewd comment on a nude photo of a civilian employee.

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9 Investigators confirmed that former deputy Alex Valentin received a nude photo of a young female civilian employee in the spring of 2022.

Former Deputy Samantha Sanchez was dating Valentin at the time when she says she found the photo of another woman on his phone. She says she also found text messages between Valentin and Sheriff Marcos Lopez about the photo.

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She took a screenshot of this alleged conversation and then reported it to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The allegations will now be discussed in evidentiary hearings as Sanchez fights to get his job back.

Sanchez was accused of lying about her whereabouts while she was late for work.

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However, she believes her firing was retaliatory after another deputy learned she had screenshots of the inappropriate text conversation her ex-boyfriend allegedly had with Sheriff Marcos Lopez.

“My first reaction was to confront Alex,” Sanchez told WFTV of her reaction after finding text messages on her then-boyfriend’s phone.

9 Investigators confirmed that Deputy Alex Valentin received a nude photo from another civilian employee of the Osceola County Sheriff's Office.

Sanchez said she took a screenshot that she said shows Valentin sharing the photo with his friend and boss, Sheriff Lopez.

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Instead of condemning the situation, Sanchez told 9 Investigates that Lopez did the opposite, saying, “I would f*** her up.” Sanchez's screenshot appears to show Valentin responding, “Yes, she's hot,” and the sheriff responding, “Yes.”

Sanchez said she immediately confronted Valentin about what she found on his phone.

“He told me the sheriff knew this woman liked him and he wanted to see her naked,” Sanchez said.

Sharing a nude photo of another person without their consent is a first-degree misdemeanor in Florida. However, the woman pictured in the photo declined to press charges.

“The sheriff saw Alex commit a crime. And no, no punishment, no punishment, no report,” Sanchez said. “He’s supposed to be the role model for all the other deputies. And obviously, he’s not,” Sanchez said. “So, you know, how do you do that? How do you have a sheriff who can’t be alone in the room with employees?”

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More than a year after discovering the text message conversation, Sanchez said she told an assistant what she found on her phone and her relationship with Valentin. A few days after that conversation, Valentin confronted her at work about the screenshot.

“He said that because the sheriff had heard that there was a screenshot on my phone of their conversation, and he wanted Alex to go through my phone to either find it and delete it or confirm if it was true,” Sanchez said.

Last February, Sanchez was fired and accused of violating the “truthfulness” policy.

She told Channel 9 the sheriff's office looked for a reason to fire her and found something that she said was not a reason to fire her.

“I think it was just me being late. Honestly, I gave a cross street about a mile from my exact location. And I wasn’t immediately at that intersection,” Sanchez said. “I think I was being targeted.”

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The Osceola County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that “multiple computer specialists have reviewed this photograph and have serious concerns about its authenticity. The validity and possible political motivations of these allegations will be thoroughly investigated, and any allegations of misconduct will be addressed appropriately.”

9 Investigates spoke by phone with the woman pictured in the nude photo.

She confirmed she sent the photo to the deputy sheriff and that the FDLE spoke to her. She declined to press charges against Valentin, however. She said this was the first she had heard the sheriff had responded to the image. She said she was shocked and upset by Lopez’s alleged response and disappointed in how the sheriff’s office handled the situation.

Valentin was arrested in July 2023 after Sanchez said he reported the abuse. He faces six counts of domestic violence in Orange County and is scheduled to go to trial later this month. He was fired from the sheriff's office the same month he was arrested.

The FDLE has not confirmed the status of its investigation at this point.

9 Investigates contacted Valentin by phone but did not receive a response.

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