Photo: Broward Sheriff's Office
A detective with the Broward Sheriff's Office was arrested and charged after an investigation revealed he falsified records on dozens of sex crimes cases assigned to him since 2021.
Demetrious Campbell, 48, was charged with nine counts of official misconduct and one count of extortion. Prosecutors said that Campbell was assigned 99 sex crime and abuse cases and classified 41 of them as unfounded.
An investigation was launched into Campbell after a victim in one of the cases reached out to the sheriff's office to ask about her case. When Campbell's supervisor asked him about the case, he said it was closed because the victim refused to cooperate.
That caused officials to reexamine his cases from the past few years. They found that Campell had closed eight cases this year and 25 in 2022 after claiming investigators had exhausted all potential leads and determined no crime had occurred.
As they dug deeper into his previous cases, they also learned that he allegedly threatened a victim with separation.
"Sex offenses are such heinous crimes to recover from because of the emotional and sometimes physical scars endured by victims that last for many years," Sheriff Gregory Tony said in a statement. "Failure to fully investigate such serious crimes is reprehensible and downright disgraceful."
Campbell has been suspended without pay and remains locked up at the Broward County Jail.