A lieutenant with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has resigned amid allegations that he posted “racial and homophobic” comments on local news websites while on duty.

Lt. Jeff Egnor, a 13-year veteran with the department, resigned Tuesday, said Sgt. Ron Hanavan, a sheriff’s spokesman.

A sheriff’s office investigation began Monday afternoon when KMGH Channel 7 made a records request seeking to trace the source of comments posted on its website – www.thedenverchannel.com.

The identity of the rogue poster was pursued by Channel 7 when other users of its website complained to the station about inflammatory remarks, according to a story on the station’s website.

“Channel 7 had the information on an IP address — it came back to county government,” Hanavan said. “It was determined it was Lt. Jeff Egnor’s computer.”

Egnor posted hundreds of comments under the name “Abu Mybutt,” Channel 7 said in its story.

He also posted questionable comments on the website of KUSA Channel 9, Hanavan said.

Sheriff’s investigators have determined that the comments in question were made while Egnor was at work and with the use of a county-owned computer.

“It’s safe to say it was shocking to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office,” Hanavan said of the inflammatory postings. “Shocking and out of character.”

Egnor, who oversaw the records division among other duties, was apologetic in tone in his resignation, which the sheriff’s office accepted.

“He resigned in the middle of the investigation,” Hanavan said. “He seemed ashamed of what he had been doing.”

Egnor could not be reached for comment.

Although the allegations are not criminal in nature, the sheriff’s office does not condone expressing personal opinions in public forums when the employee is working and using its office equipment, Hanavan said.

The postings do not reflect the character and opinion of the sheriff’s office and its employees, he said.

“This is one individual employee who made a bad choice,” Hanavan said. “It does not represent all the hard-working men and women who represent the sheriff on a daily basis.”

Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.