MONTICELLO — An investigation into a nude photo shoot at the Jefferson County Courthouse led to the arrest of Kirk Reams, the long-serving clerk of courts, on a loosely related charge of petty theft.

Reams, 40, turned himself in at the county jail early Monday evening and was released on his own recognizance. He was not at his office Tuesday morning.

His attorney, David Collins of Monticello, said Reams would not be available for comment. But Collins suggested the charge was overkill and the result of an an ex-girlfriend’s attempt to smear his client's reputation.

“It’s a very peculiar case,” Collins said.

The small-town political scandal began to unfold late last year, after Reams’ former girlfriend, Brittany McClellan, told the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office that Reams took naked photos of her inside the circuit judge’s chambers, located upstairs from Reams’ office.

McClellan and Reams dated for about a year starting in 2012, she told investigators. And while they had a child together, their relationship was tumultuous. She was arrested twice, in 2013 and 2014, on domestic violence charges after attacking Reams, according to court records.

After she came forward, Sheriff David Hobbs asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Public Corruption Unit to determine whether any crimes occurred as a result of the risque photographs. Investigators confirmed the existence of the photos, which were taken after working hours in 2013. The investigation found they did not amount to a crime.

The probe continued, however, based on other information from McClellan. She told investigators that in early 2013, Reams gave her a county-owned laptop, which he said no one was using. McClellan said she used the laptop to order cosmetics for her hair salon in downtown Monticello. She borrowed wi-fi with the blessings of a business next door, Vintage Treasures.

FDLE investigators conducted an exhaustive investigation into the laptop, an HP personal computer the county bought in 2010 for $575. They subpoenaed county records, seized the laptop in March and conducted a forensic examination showing when, where and how it had been used.

Investigators found the laptop’s usage supported McClellan’s statements that she had the computer for about a year starting in January 2013. Among other things, they found evidence beauty products had been ordered from MaryKay.com. They found only four documents relating to county business.

Court records say Reams knowingly obtained the county-owned laptop and gave it to McClellan for her personal use even though she wasn’t entitled to it.

“In doing so, (Reams) temporarily deprived the Jefferson County Commission of the aforementioned HP 625 laptop, in violation of (Florida statutes), a first-degree misdemeanor,” the probable cause affidavit says.

Collins, Reams’ attorney, said the case should have gone to the Florida Commission on Ethics for review, though he didn’t see an ethical violation. He said it should not have resulted in a criminal prosecution.

“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 said.

He noted that Reams, first elected in 2006 and re-elected last year without opposition, is a non-voting member of the County Commission, which owns the laptop. He also said McClellan reported the nude photos to law enforcement at the same time she and Reams were fighting over custody of their child.

“Why would she show nude photos of herself if it wasn’t meant to smear Mr. Reams’ character?” Collins asked. “It does not appear that she went to the government to complain about a laptop. It seems like she wanted to get him in trouble for the pictures if he took them.”

McClellan has since closed her beauty salon and moved away from Monticello. She could not be reached for comment.

The tawdry tale was spreading through Monticello on Tuesday morning. Pam Willis, the owner of Vintage Treasures, knew about an investigation of some kind after FDLE visited her business months ago. But she didn’t know the details at the time.

“If it’s true,” she said, “that’s kind of creepy.”

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.