Brooke Whitford, now off drugs and employed, says she was taken advantage of by a Volusia County court deputy when she was addicted and ordered to drug court six years ago. The memories still haunt her.

"An officer of the (expletive) law seduced me knowing that I needed help," a sobbing Whitford said in a telephone interview last week. "Instead of helping me, he made me do sex, and gave me money making me think that he was helping but he just used me."

That officer, former Volusia County sheriffs' deputy Bryan Scott Barnett, 50, had sex with Whitford and multiple women ordered by the court to seek help and treatment from local drug court programs, investigators said.

Barnett and another deputy lost their jobs after an investigation into what women in jail came to call "13 Stepping," or taking advantage of substance abusers sexually when they're early in recovery.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said the cases have sparked a review of how his agency staffs courthouses.

Barnett gave Whitford money and a cellphone in exchange for sex, a Volusia County Sheriff's Office internal affairs report shows.

Barnett was a Volusia County sheriff's deputy for 21 years, working patrol in the agency's District 3 for two years before transferring to work as a court deputy. He resigned in December 2016 as Florida Department of Law Enforcement took over the investigation into how the two deputies were treating some women ordered to attend drug court.

The other court deputy, Jay Hawman, 47, was fired July 25 for having inappropriate contact with women in drug court. He worked with the Sheriff's Office for 13 years, the first three years as a patrol deputy in District 5, then as a court deputy since 2011.

Whitford said this week that although Barnett and Hawman were discovered, other women have said the practice of offering money, gifts and favors for sex has been something that's been going on for a long time and that other deputies are involved.

"When officers are known in jail to be having sex with women they give money to, there's got to be something wrong," Whitford said. "He (Barnett) should be arrested and put in jail, but I know that is not going to happen."

Whitford said she hopes the Sheriff's Office overhauls the court services division so that the exploitation of vulnerable women stops.

"I just feel bad for all the other women who went through this trauma with me," Whitford said. "I hope somebody fixes it. I don't want other women to go through what I went through."

Capt. Eric Dietrich has overseen court services since being assigned there earlier this year. He took over for Capt. Eric Westfall who ran the unit since 2014, through the end of sheriff Ben Johnson's administration and into Chitwood's term. Before Westfall, Capt. Joe McDonald oversaw court services.

Dietrich and Westfall were not made available by the Sheriff's Office to answer questions for this story. Westfall now oversees District 6 deputies in Southwest Volusia. McDonald is retired and attempts to reach him last week were unsuccessful.

Barnett and Hawman were recommended for the job as court security officers, said Chitwood, who took over as Volusia County sheriff at the beginning of the year.

“My understanding is that they didn’t get there without somebody, without the approval of their supervisors,” Chitwood said.

The Sheriff's Office and courts spokeswoman Ludmilla Lelis clarified on Wednesday that Barnett and Hawman were not bailiffs but court security officers.

"Not all deputy sheriffs assigned to courthouse duties are 'bailiffs.' 'Bailiff' is more of a job duty and refers to individuals who provide security and other related duties to judges when they are conducting court proceedings," Lelis said.

However, internal affairs investigators said that both Barnett and Hawman were in drug court sessions where judges and the women shared personal information, which the former deputies used to make contact with the women.

Court deputies get the job by applying for a transfer as is the case for deputies who request a move to other units such as investigations, motorcycle or K-9 deputies. Others are assigned to courthouses out of necessity, Chitwood said.

“If they become liabilities in the street, like bad drivers, I send them to work at the court,” Chitwood said. “I have also placed deputies involved in shootings to work court security until their cases are resolved.”

Lelis said judges also are involved in decisions about which deputies work in their courtrooms.

A judge can request a sheriff's deputy for his or her bailiff. Historically the Sheriff’s Office has acceded to judges’ wishes when selecting deputies to serve as bailiffs, Lelis said.

"In a courtroom, there is usually more than one deputy working but these other deputy sheriffs aren't necessarily assigned to that judge or any particular programs," Lelis said.

Chitwood said some hardworking deputies develop a good reputation as court deputies. It’s not surprising then that a judge would ask specifically for a deputy to work in his courtroom.

“If you are in the courts for a while, you get to build up a good reputation and judges get to know you and request you,” Chitwood said.

Multiple women ordered to take part in the drug court programs told investigators that Barnett and Hawman offered them money, gifts and favors in exchange for sex, reports state.

Chitwood said the men engaged in a culture of taking advantage of vulnerable women at their all-time low emotionally and mentally, and when they're looking for help in drug court programs.

Whitford agreed, and money was the primary enticement, she said.

"He (the deputy) knows you don't have money and he asks you to come to his house to have sex and he gives you money or things," Whitford said. "He makes you feel like he is helping you but in reality he's exploiting you."

Though they are no longer deputies, contact information for Barnett and Hawman is by law shielded from public records. They could not be reached for this story.

The State Attorney's Office said that the Volusia County Sheriff's Office has submitted reports of Hawman to South Florida authorities. Volusia sheriff's internal affairs reports how that Hawman was being looked at by Broward County child exploitation investigators.

Barnett gave up his law enforcement certification when he resigned. Hawman's law enforcement status in unclear.

Chitwood said he is already working on a possible change in court services. He will start mixing deputies with private security workers from the contracted company GS4 and rotate them more often so they don’t befriend women.

“Since these incidents have occurred we’ve had discussions with the staff, maybe we need to put these GS4 folks, mix them in the mix here with the drug court and see what we can get out of it,” Chitwood said. “Obviously we are going to do a better job of screening our deputies, do a better job on staying on top of who we assign there."

The FDLE in forwarded an investigative summary on Barnett's case to the State Attorney's Office but in March, prosecutors decided not to file criminal charges.

Prosecutors said that while most of the sexual acts involved the exchange of money or other things of value, there was no open discussion of exchanging money for sex but rather, it was implied and the money payout occurred after the sexual acts.

"It is the conclusion of the (prosecutor) that there is insufficient evidence to file charges of either solicitation of prostitution or unlawful compensation or reward for officials' behavior," Assistant State Attorney Joseph Ledonne wrote in a memorandum to his superiors.

Whitford said she was disappointed to learn that no charges were being filed against Barnett. Whitford, who was arrested several times in Volusia during her struggles with drugs, said she first met Barnett in 2011 when he took her to and from the courthouse to the jail. She was 20 years old at the time.

Although she is now sober, Whitford said she has not overcome the trauma.

"When you get in a relationship you don't know how to trust or how far your relationship is going to go," Whitford said. "In your sexual life, the flashbacks just keep coming back."