Florida Sheriff’s Dept Employees Fired for Having Sex on Duty

By KATHLEEN CULLINAN contact

Originally published — 3:02 p.m., April 20, 2007
Updated — 7:21 p.m., April 20, 2007

Two Lee County sheriff’s deputies were fired separately this month amid allegations they had sex with women while they were on duty, authorities said.

In both cases, records show the deputies’ relationships were reported by a jilted lover — the wife of Deputy Michael Haigis brought cell phone records to the sheriff’s headquarters after finding a Valentine’s Day card in his duffel bag. And 17-year veteran Sgt. Edwin Cintron was subjected to an Internal Affairs investigation when a 7-Eleven clerk reported he’d left her for another clerk, according to sheriff’s reports.

Both men were ultimately fired. A sheriff’s dispatcher, Cristina Baughman, also was let go after authorities determined she and Haigis carried on their affair at work.

“There’s no place in law enforcement for that type of nonsense on duty,” Lee Sheriff Mike Scott said. “I was angry and embarrassed, and took very quick action to investigate it.”

None of the three ex-employees could be reached Friday. But both women accused of having sex with Cintron disputed the official version of facts.

“I think it’s a travesty, him losing his job,” Shelba Norton said. “This whole ordeal is a very sad situation.”

According to an internal affairs report, Norton was first to tell the Sheriff’s Office that Cintron had oral sex with her co-worker behind a Fort Myers 7-Eleven. A report says Norton said “she was upset with the deputy who was also a former boyfriend.”

She strongly denied Friday making that initial complaint.

Either way, authorities took the report and interviewed the other clerk, Lisa Anderson. She denied such an encounter took place while Cintron was on duty. Reached on her cell phone Friday afternoon, Anderson said she stands by the statements she gave investigators.

“I was with him — me being wrong and him being wrong,” she said, but “I cut off talking with him because I didn’t want to deal with this drama.”

Given his turn to talk with investigators, Cintron owned up to “almost having sexual intercourse with” Norton in her driveway, in full view of her neighbors, while he was on duty, according to the reports. He also said he’d had oral sex with Anderson behind the 7-Eleven, in his uniform.

But he said his shift was over when it happened.

Cintron was fired Thursday. Despite his comments, the report concluded there was “clear and convincing evidence that Sergeant Edwin Cintron had numerous sexual encounters with Shelba Norton and Lisa Anderson while on-duty.”

In the other case, records say Haigis and Baughman met up several times starting in November 2006, having oral sex at a park or on the side of the road.

Haigis’ wife discovered the card in March and printed out cell phone records to bring evidence of his extra-marital relationship to the Sheriff’s Office, reports say.

Improper conduct and neglect of duty charges against Haigis, who told investigators he was in his uniform and driving his patrol car, but off duty, during at least one of the encounters, were substantiated. Baughman was confronted with evidence she’d once left work to have oral sex with Haigis, whereupon she said she’d forgotten about it, the reports say.

Haigis was hired just over a year ago, authorities said. Baughman had been on staff about three years.

“Sex on duty, lying about it — that’ll get you a ticket out the door every time,” Scott said.