A former Volusia County sheriff's dispatcher and his wife who works for the county's ambulance service have been charged with sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl, an official said.

The couple — Tyler Bush-Conn, 28, of South Daytona, and his wife Talisha Bush-Conn, 27, of Deltona — were arrested Tuesday morning and booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail, sheriff's spokesman Andrew Gant said.

Records show the couple, who are separated, are held without bail.

The sheriff's Child Exploitation Unit was contacted Monday night by authorities in Alabama who said a 7-year-old girl told them she'd been sexually abused by Tyler Bush-Conn in Volusia County, Gant said.

The girl was visiting her grandmother when she was caught looking at explicit images on her tablet, according to the sheriff's charging affidavit. When the grandmother asked the girl why she was looking at such images, the granddaughter disclosed the abuse.

The abuse, investigators found, occurred on several occasions at the Bush-Conns' former residence on Wade Street in DeLand and at the girl's home in Deltona, Gant said. The girl told investigators Tyler Bush-Conn raped her on multiple occasions and took pictures of her while she was naked.

The girl told investigators that once her mother left for work, Tyler Bush-Conn would say "let's do our thing" and proceed to sexually abuse her, according to the affidavit. Bush-Conn told the girl if she told anyone about what they were doing, he'd hurt her.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood said he was sickened by the couple's actions.

"In all my years of policing, I have never investigated a more depraved, despicable, twisted incident as this," Chitwood said.

The investigation is ongoing, with additional charges pending, but it was determined Talisha Bush-Conn engaged in at least one sexual encounter with the girl, Gant said.

The abuse is believed to have started in 2016, but additional details about the time frame are unknown, Gant said.

Tyler Bush-Conn was arrested shortly before 4 a.m. at his current home in South Daytona on Banana Cay Drive and charged with sexual battery on a victim under the age of 12 and lewd or lascivious molestation, records show.

When investigators arrived at his home, he told them he was in the middle of a divorce and was aware of who the girl is when asked if he knew her, according to the report. Asked if anything inappropriate had ever occurred between him and the girl, Bush-Conn said "no comment."

When asked if the girl had lied about the allegations, Bush-Conn said she hadn't, according to the report.

Tyler Bush-Conn was hired by the Sheriff's Office on March 17, 2014, and fired Oct. 28, 2016, Gant said.

Talisha Bush-Conn was arrested shortly before 7 a.m. at her Deltona residence on Snook Drive and charged with principal to sexual battery on a victim under the age of 12, lewd or lascivious exhibition, child abuse and child neglect, records show.

She works for EVAC, Volusia County's emergency transport service, as an ambulance supply technician, said Joanne Magley, county spokeswoman. Talisha Bush-Conn's employment status was unclear on Tuesday, Magley said.

The Department of Children and Families took the couple's two children into protective custody, department spokesman John Harrell said.

He said DCF is conducting its own investigation.

Harrell also encouraged residents to visit dontmissthesigns.org for guidance on what to look for if child abuse is suspected.