Report: Ex-Volusia County deputy sent sexually explicit text messages to stalking victim
A former Volusia County Sheriff's Office deputy, who resigned in February, sent sexually explicit messages to the victim of a stalking case he investigated, according to an Internal Affairs report released to the News-Journal.
David Teske, who was an investigator with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, resigned Feb. 24 after a 13-year career with the agency.
The Internal Affairs report shows that Teske was assigned to investigate the stalking case of former Orange City policeman, Jarmarus Brown, in January 2024.
Brown, 29, of DeBary, was fired after Teske's investigation determined that he illegally used his work computer and law enforcement database to track the whereabouts of his former girlfriend, the woman Teske sent explicit messages to.
Brown was arrested Feb. 4 and jailed on charges of stalking and unauthorized use of computers or electronic devices. The former Orange City policeman, who is free on $15,000 bail, is scheduled to go before a judge on June 17 and has a trial date set for July 14, according to court records.
Orange City officer accused of stalking Orange City Police officer arrested for stalking girlfriend
The woman did not cooperate with the Internal Affairs investigator. Teske also declined to be interviewed, but an analysis of his Sheriff's Office-issued cell phone revealed deleted text messages and that helped in the investigation.
Teske initiated the inappropriate message-sending, the report noted.
In one text message Teske wrote to the stalking victim: "Just wanted to make sure me calling you absolutely gorgeous didn't piss you off or anything."
Some messages were far more sexually explicit.
Teske asked the woman not to reveal that they were talking about things that were not related to the stalking case, the IA report noted.
When the investigator asked to speak with Teske, he declined and resigned.
In his resignation letter, Teske said has let the sheriff's office down and that in a momentary lapse of judgement hurt his 13-year career.
"As a law enforcement officer, I was held to a higher standard, which I failed to live up to," Teske wrote.
In September 2022, Teske was honored as Deputy of the Quarter by the Sheriff's Office for solving robbery, larceny, burglary, and fraud cases, and for being a mentor and trainer of new investigators.
The former deputy said he understood the seriousness of his behavior and the negative impact it had on the Sheriff's Office.
"I take full responsibility for my actions," Teske stated. "I understand the seriousness of the situation and the disappointment I caused, and it has weighed heavily on me ever since."
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Former Volusia County deputy resigned over flirting with stalking victim
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