INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — After a 19-year-old Indian River County deputy was arrested on a child pornography charge, the sheriff said his former employee could face more charges.
Kai Cromer was arrested Tuesday, a day after he was sworn in.
His career as an Indian River County Sheriff's deputy ended before he gave it a chance to begin.
"It's a sad situation," Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said. "We don't want to arrest any of our own. We want it to be a situation where all cops are good people but unfortunately, there are some bad apples out there, and the second we identify them, we have to nip it in the bud."
Parents and guardians outside of Vero Beach High School agreed with the sheriff.
"It's unfortunate for the person that he thought he could get away with something like that," resident Carol Scherstanley said.
Cromer is facing at least one child pornography charge.
Flowers said the investigation into Cromer began Monday when a student recognized him during a tour of Vero Beach High School for new recruits. According to Flowers, Cromer was using authority and power he didn't even have yet.
"He's telling these other young girls, 'I'm a deputy. I'm going to be a deputy. Send me these pictures,'" Flowers said. "He's essentially forcing them to do it, not giving them a choice. You know that it's not the right thing to do."
A warrant for his arrest on one count of possession of child pornography was signed by 6 p.m. Tuesday. Two hours later he was in custody and has since been released after posting bail.
While in jail, Flowers said he was terminated from his position. The sheriff said Cromer's age makes the case unique.
"The way the laws are right now, if he was 19 years old, and he was having sex with a 17-year-old, that's actually not illegal. That's not against the law," Flowers said. "But having a photograph of a 17-year-old or a 16-year-old is, a naked picture, that's child pornography. Any of these videos, that's child pornography."
With that in mind, Flowers said change is needed.
"Next legislative session, we probably need to have some conversations about the laws and the way that they are right now," Flowers said, "because this is a very interesting circumstance, and it's also a topic of conversation with me and my command staff about the future of hiring. Do we want to continue hiring people who are under 21? I think that I'm actually going to take that to 21 for this reason."
Flowers said Cromer will likely face more related charges.
According to the sheriff, there are four underaged girls attached to the case, and several search warrants and subpoenas are to be filed on Cromer's social media accounts.
