CLAY COUNTY—A former deputy has been arrested and charged with armed sexual battery, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

 Ryan Perry was taken into custody on Friday evening following an investigation into an incident that the agency said occurred on June 18.

According to Sheriff Michelle Cook, Perry, along with another deputy, were dispatched to the female victim’s residence to investigate a theft report.

The arrest report states that both deputies questioned the victim and her friends outside for approximately 30 minutes, before all parties relocated inside. Perry followed the victim upstairs to her bedroom, while the second deputy remained downstairs gathering more information from witnesses.

While Perry and the victim were in the bedroom alone, Cook said that Perry "demanded that the victim expose her breast for him and then he inappropriately touched the victim against her will, in a manner that completed the offense of sexual battery.”

CCSO was notified of the allegations against Perry on June 21, which prompted an immediate, detailed investigation. 

Perry was terminated upon his arrest. 

Perry had been employed by the agency since 2018. During that time, Cook stated that the agency received two other complaints from Perry, which were investigated—one involved unprovoked, inappropriate comments and behavior, while the other concerned trespassing. 

The former was sustained, while the latter was unfounded. 

“I could not be more disappointed tonight with the news that I have to share with our community,” she said during a press conference. “It is devastating to us as an agency and to me personally. And I assure you that we will follow through on this and justice will be served.

"We hire from the human race, and humans have faults. I'm not excusing it. A bad cop is a bad cop, and they need to be held accountable. Unfortunately, this happens on occasion. Now, the great thing is, this is very rare. This is extremely rare. Most of the deputies out there, the vast majority of law enforcement, do great work every single day with no issues."

Cook thanked the victim for coming forward and urged anyone else with a similar experience to do the same.

“I am interested in hearing from anyone who may have had a similar experience with Ryan Perry as this investigation continues,” Cook said. “I want to speak directly to the citizens of Clay County who have ever been through the burdens of trauma or sexual assault. We hear you, we stand with you, and we will fight for you.”