Third Marion County deputy suspended in Dan Kuhn investigation

FDLE investigates Kuhn's extramarital affair allegations

OCALA, Fla. – The Marion County Sheriff's Office has suspended another employee with pay as a result of the investigation into former sheriff candidate Dan Kuhn, who was accused of an extramarital affair and violating internal department policies.

Deputy Robert Youmans was suspended with pay on Tuesday pending the outcome of the investigation. Youmans is the third employee to be suspended in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation into Kuhn.

Sheriff Ed Dean suspended Major David Sperring of Special Investigations and Captain Charles Wiley of Emergency Management. It's not clear how the three were involved in the investigation.

Kuhn dropped out of the sheriff's race and resigned from the department last week after the allegations surfaced, resulting in an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement requested by Dean.

Dean said he received a complaint from an attorney representing Melissa Cook, the principal of an Ocala private school, saying she had an affair with Kuhn. In her complaint, she says the two engaged in sexual activity at MCSO while Kuhn was on duty and that Kuhn gave her the code for the front gate.

Cook's complaint said at least three other deputies knew about the affair but didn't tell the sheriff. The affair allegedly involves department property, vehicles, staff and the violation of internal policies.

The Marion County GOP will pick a sheriff's candidate replacement for Kuhn on Wednesday at a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Among the 11 candidates submitting an application is Chris Blair, who lost the primary to Kuhn.

"It's going to be a challenge, but I think that we can bring together and we can certainly build the trust within the community again," Blair said.

Blair is up against one of his biggest supporters in the primary, former Sheriff Don Moreland, who now wants to be sheriff himself.

Watch Local 6 for more on this story.


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