Sergeant Sought Sex From Teen Inmate: Pinellas County Sheriff

CLEARWATER, FL — A sergeant at the Pinellas Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Clearwater was arrested Wednesday and charged with soliciting sexual activity from a juvenile inmate, according to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Ten “inappropriate letters” from Sgt. Katelyn Gomez, 27, were found in the bed of a 16-year-old male inmate at the detention center, the sheriff’s office said.

“The letters explicitly described what would take place during their first sexual encounter and described an ongoing relationship, which had developed while the victim was incarcerated,” according to the agency. There was also a photo of Gomez in the victim’s cell.

Gomez was hired as a sergeant on Jan. 5 and assigned to the victim’s pod three weeks ago. Though she was told not to be alone with the juvenile inmates, staff members saw her one-on-one with the victim several times.

When interviewed by detectives, Gomez admitted to writing the letters to the victim and said she began developing a relationship with him when they met at the facility several weeks ago.

She told investigators that she fantasized about having a sexual relationship with the teen and “planned to build a life with him” after he was released, the sheriff’s office said.

Gomez was charged with one count of solicitation of a child to engage in an act that constitutes sexual battery by a person in familial or custodial authority. She was booked into Pinellas County Jail.