A Lake County deputy sheriff is out of jail after he was arrested Wednesday night for sexual battery.



The victim told deputies she and her boyfriend were out celebrating New Year's Eve at an Orlando bar and passed out after drinking too much in the parking lot of a closed business along U.S. 27 in Minneola.

The woman said she awoke to Deputy Sheriff Matthew Donnelly standing beside the car.



After her boyfriend was secured in Donnelly's patrol car, the victim said Donnelly groped her and made inappropriate comments to her while saying he would not take her boyfriend to jail.

She also said Donnelly was adamant she not tell anyone about the encounter and would let her boyfriend go.

The victim said Donnelly even called for a female relative to pick up the couple. The relative informed detectives the victim immediately told her about Donnelly's misconduct.

Deputies said the camera in Donnelly's patrol car was turned off for approximately 22 minutes during the encounter.

"That would obviously raise their concerns and raise their suspicions,” Lt. John Herrell said of the investigation.



Donnelly was booked into the Lake County Jail and released on $10,000 bond.



“It’s always hard to see any law enforcement officer break the law that they are sworn to uphold, but it’s especially hard when it’s one of your own,” Lt. Herrell said.

The case was even more disturbing for people in Donnelly’s Minneola neighborhood. Not only is he a deputy, but he’s married and they say he has three children.

“I really feel bad for his wife for sure, I’m she was probably floored by it,” neighbor Carl DeVelvis said.



No one answered the door at the Minneola home Thursday. The Sheriff’s Office said they’d be visiting soon to give him his termination notice.

Lt. Herrell said he hopes the incident doesn’t cause the public to lose faith in the agency. However he said under the agency’s current state accredited policies there’s nothing to prevent another deputy from turning off dash cam video. He said it’s a policy they might consider reviewing.



We requested the portions of the dash cam video that were recorded, but it isn’t being released to help protect the victim’s identity.