A report by Real Clear Investigations (RCI) suggests Sheriff Scott Israel did not fire Deputy Scot Peterson–aka, the “Coward of Broward”–following the Parkland school shooting because Peterson covered up a sexual assault incident involving the sheriff’s son.

According to RCI, in 2014 “Israel’s then-17-year-old son, Brett, was accused of participating in a sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.”

Peterson wrote up a report on the incident in which he said the victim “alleged that Israel, then the school’s starting quarterback, held him down while another senior kicked him, grabbed his genitals and rammed a baseball bat between his buttocks, simulating rape.”

Individuals with knowledge of the accusations say Peterson could have pursued felony charges against Israel instead reduced the matter to “simple battery.” This allowed Israel to benefit from an Obama-era disciplinary reduction policy and receive a three-day suspension over the incident.

RCI reports that Peterson’s handling of this situation is being put forward as a possible reason why Israel did not fire the deputy after he refused to go inside and confront the Parkland school shooter. Instead, Israel allowed Peterson to resign and he now draws a pension of over $100,000 a year.

Peterson arrived on scene at Building 12 on the Parkland campus some 90 seconds into the attack. He stood outside the building as the gunman continued shooting and moving floor-to-floor to find more innocents to kill. Months after the incident Peterson told CBS News that would enter “that building in a heartbeat” if he could do it all over again.

Seventeen innocents were killed in the attack and the gunman, facing no armed response, had time to pause and reload five times.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange