OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Newly uncovered court documents reveal this is not the first time a member of the King family has faced accusations of misusing authority within the Florida Highway Patrol.
Records obtained by News 6 show former FHP Capt. Sterling King — the husband of former Capt. Lenita King — was previously convicted of official misconduct tied to a 2004 traffic stop in Osceola County.
[RELATED: Affidavit reveals details of ChampionsGate scheme that led to arrest of former Capt. Lenita King]
According to court records, King stopped a woman for speeding in May 2004 and issued her a citation. The victim later told investigators the encounter became inappropriate when King allegedly began discussing “intimate, personal sexual experiences he had at a nudist colony.”
The woman told investigators she was “mortified by King’s behavior,” according to the documents.
Court records state the woman later asked King if he could help cancel her speeding ticket. Investigators said King told her he would help get the citation dismissed.
Internal FHP records show King sent the woman 24 messages over a 19-week period, instructing her on how to request a hearing related to the ticket.
Investigators also found King used official FHP letterhead to send a fax to a traffic officer requesting the speeding citation be dismissed because of mistaken identity.
King was ultimately convicted on two misdemeanor counts of official misconduct.
He faced up to seven years in prison but received no jail time and was fined $1,500. Records show he was also terminated from the Florida Highway Patrol.