A Florida clerk who allegedly took nude photos of his girlfriend in a judge’s chambers was arrested Monday on a petty theft charge, news reports stated.
The twisted tale involves Jefferson County Clerk of Courts Kirk Reams, 40, and his ex-girlfriend Brittany McClellan, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
The two began dating in 2012, had a child together and broke up about a year later, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
In 2013 and 2014, McClellan was arrested twice on domestic violence charges during fights with Reams, according to court records obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat. The two also went through a tumultuous custody battle for their child, the paper added.
The saga continued into late 2016, when McClellan told the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office that while they were dating Reams took nude photos of her inside a circuit court judge’s chamber’s office. She also told them that McClellan let her borrow a government laptop, which she used for about a year, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
An investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Public Corruption Unit determined that the nude photos taken in 2013 did exist, but that McClellan did not do anything criminal, The Tallahassee Democrat reported.
However, the state agency continued its investigation into the allegation of misuse of a government-owned laptop. She told officials that she used it to order supplies for her salon in Monticello, east of Tallahassee.
Reams was charged Monday with misdemeanor petty theft and booked into jail.
His attorney, David Collins of Monticello, said criminal charges should never have been filed and that the case should have been handled by the Florida Commission on Ethics. He said the latest event is essentially the result of an ex-girlfriend trying to smear Reams’ reputation.
“It appears that the government has gone to great lengths and costs to the taxpayer to prosecute a misdemeanor whose basis is that the clerk of court loaned an otherwise unused laptop and the clerk is the person who has authority to give permission to do such,” he told the Tallahassee Democrat.
Read more at the Tallahassee Democrat.
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