Charges not related to those of Marcos Lopez, new Sheriff Blackmon says
A pair of now-former Osceola County Sheriff’s Office employees have been arrested in connection with unauthorized use of computer databases to look up sensitive department information, Sheriff Chris Blackmon announced.
He said neither are tied to the investigation into the criminal charges against former Sheriff Marcos Lopez, but in the case of former deputy Kyle Henry, Lopez knew about it but “did nothing with it.”
Henry, 40, was arrested at his home Wednesday morning on one count of unlawful use of a two-way communication device and three counts of unauthorized access to a computer system.
In addition, Cassandra Wirthlin, an 8 1/2-year employee of OCSO, has been charged with four counts each of unlawful use of a two-way communication device and unauthorized access to a computer system.
“I promised the public we would operate with honesty and integrity. These two employees have broken that sacred trust and oath of office,” Blackmon said. “We have a great agency with a lot of good people. This is just a small segment who have issues. As we see those issues, we will arrest those with criminal charges.”
Wirthlin knowingly and without authorization accessed computer systems and electronic databases to obtain information, not relevant to her official duties. The actions were a direct violation of agency protocols and Florida law, governing offenses against computer systems and electronic records, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Wirthlin had resigned her position as a digital evidence specialist on July 17, and an arrest warrant was issued on July 23, which is when she turned herself in to authorities. She was arrested, booked in the Osceola County Jail and later released on a $4,000 bond.
Blackmon said staff brought Henry’s violations, which occurred in May 2024, to administrative attention during an investigation into database logs. Like Wirthlin, he is accused of using the Sheriff’s Office database to obtain information not related to his official duties.
“The prior administration knew about this but did nothing with it. We don’t know why,” Blackmon said. “We promised we’d take immediate action. Our integrity is not going to be reproached at any time.”
The sheriff said he put Henry, a deputy in the Community Outreach division since 2021, administrative duty on June 23. His arrest warrant issued Tuesday, and he was arrested Wednesday morning at his home without incident.
As the investigations into these charges continue, Blackmon said he couldn’t elaborate on the cases.
