A deputy sheriff from Marion County in Florida has resigned following an investigation that revealed inappropriate behavior toward teenage girls.
The investigation focused on two incidents where the deputy acted in a manner that bothered the women.
According to documents obtained by FOX35 News, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office Deputy resigned after he was involved in two separate incidents that involved inappropriate contact with girls. One of the girls is a teenager. [Editor’s Note: Other reports indicate that both of the girls were teenagers.]
On Oct. 16, Deputy Dylan Fruh resigned from his position with Sheriff Billy Woods.
According to reports by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Fruh’s resignation was preceded by two disciplinary inquiries where he was found in violation of his duty for failing to activate his body-worn cameras and using a database of information to conduct searches that were not related to work.
Fruh received a one-day and three-day suspension for each of these incidents. He resigned within four days of the second suspension.
He pulled over a 17-year-old girl during a traffic stop. After getting the girl’s number, he followed her.
Marion County Deputy Dylan Fruh took down an underage girl’s number during a traffic stop. He then followed her to an area fast food eatery, and on another occasion used department resources to procure the number of and text a different teen girl
Leading up to his resignation.
— James Hughes (@JamesHu29812484) November 16, 2023
Fruh stopped a girl aged 17 at the 9000 NE Jacksonville Road around 10 p.m. He asked her for her license, and then they talked about who owned the car. The girl’s dad was involved. Fruh asked the girl what she was doing, and she replied that she was heading to McDonald’s with a friend. The two had just come from a high school football match.
Fruh returned to the girl after a short time in his patrol car. He asked for her number and she asked him if he was asking for her number or that of her father. Fruh asked for her number, and the girl gave it to Fruh.
In an interview she had with deputies, the girl stated “he is a police officer, and I will do anything a police officer asks of me.” This was also the first time that she had been pulled over.
Fruh issued a verbal warning and asked if she could accompany him to McDonald’s so he could “get a nugget.”
Later, the girl met with one of her friends at McDonald’s. Fruh texted the girl while they were in their car eating. He had parked three spots away and pulled up. He wrote: “Ain’t there any way they could have forgotten my mf Ranch.”
The girl replied: “Who is this?”
Fruh replied, identifying himself.
The officer then called her but she didn’t answer. Fruh said he would ask her or her friend if they had ranch dressing during an interview with authorities. He claimed that the only reason he had gone to McDonald’s was that he “was hungry at the time.” And that he did ‘community police’ to “show cops aren’t bad and willing to do something for the community.”
The report was particularly disturbing because it revealed Fruh had searched for “born 2006” on his company phone, which is the year the girl was born. Fruh explained that he wanted her age to be “curious.”
In another incident, an officer went to the house of a teen girl under the pretense that he was searching for people who may have become stuck in a bog. He asked if she heard or saw any boys call for help.
Fruh searched for leads around the neighborhood. The investigation revealed that his GPS had pinged in front of the house. He knocked and asked the girl answering if she heard or saw a few boys screaming for help. Fruh told her to call the police if she had seen anything. She replied that she would and the conversation ended.
In an interview, the girl said: “I had no information for him. I didn’t understand what he was saying.”
After asking who sent the message, Fruh identified himself. She wondered how Fruh got her number since he never asked for it. He replied, “Girl we have resources,” which made her feel uncomfortable. She told her parents who warned her not to communicate with the deputy, fearing he might be “weirdo.”
Fruh violated the code of conduct of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in both cases. Fruh was suspended for one to three days for each incident. He was also found guilty of dereliction, for not activating the body-worn camera and for using the department database for searches that were not work-related. It was this that led to his resignation.
It is unknown at this time if Fruh has engaged in criminal activities. In this case, however, the police department did its job by ensuring that an individual who could be dangerous was not allowed to continue patrolling the streets with a badge and uniform.
