The former Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was arrested and accused of domestic violence is no longer facing charges, according to court records.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested Christopher Doughty in early July after a domestic violence battery investigation.
In a news conference on July 2, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said deputies got called to Doughty’s house for a domestic violence battery investigation.
“After a thorough investigation, deputies determined there was sufficient probable cause to arrest Doughty. He was charged with battery domestic violence, and was taken to the Lee County Jail,” said Marceno during that news conference.
After the arrest, Marceno fired Doughty, who had been with the sheriff’s office for 14 years.
In the announcement of Doughty’s arrest, Marceno said that Doughty worked as a school resource officer at Palm Acres Charter High School in Lehigh Acres.
According to the arrest report, Doughty and the victim got into an argument that led to a physical altercation that resulted in Doughty grabbing the victim by the neck.
The victim has since filed a statement with the court saying they are partially to blame for the physical altercation and said they initiated the physical contact.
According to case notes obtained by WINK News, the victim said that Doughty raised his hand to defend himself, and that is when his hand ended up near her neck.
The case notes say the victim told the court in the statement that she did not want to prosecute.
The case notes also say the court was unable to proceed with the case because of the victim’s latest statement.
According to records from the Lee County Clerk of Courts, Doughty’s case is now closed, and all future court appearances have been canceled.
Sheriff Marceno told WINK News that there will be an Internal Affairs investigation.
WINK News has reached out to Doughty’s attorney, who said he is hopeful Doughty will get his job back as the SRO at Palm Acres Charter High School in Lehigh Acres.