DADE CITY - A 56-year-old Dade City man has filed suit against the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, accusing a detective of wrongly arresting him on child abuse charges that were later dropped.
According to papers filed last week in Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Court by attorney Jack Hoogewind, William James Hunt Jr. of Starline Drive is suing Sheriff Bob White as representative of the Sheriff's Office.
The suit claims Detective Richard Harrison maliciously arrested Hunt on Aug. 1, 2000, after investigating how Hunt's 5-year-old son was injured. The boy was treated at East Pasco Medical Center for a bloody nose, the result of an accident, Hunt's attorney said.
A deputy who investigated initially was satisfied with the explanation, Hoogewind wrote in his suit, but Harrison pressed the investigation and charged Hunt.
Records show Hunt was jailed for four days, until he could post $7,000 bail.
Prosecutors dropped the case in October 2000. Assistant State Attorney Richard Mensch at the time wrote, "The facts and circumstances revealed do not warrant prosecution at this time."
According to Hoogewind's suit, the child at first said he was hurt in an accident. He only later told Harrison in an interview that his father had struck him.
"The child advised a court appointed psychologist that he only said his father had punched him because this what Harrison wanted him to say," Hoogewind wrote.
The suit does not specify what damages are being sought, only that the amount - including legal fees Hunt paid to defend himself - will be more than the $15,000 threshold required to place the case in Circuit Court.
Court records show Hunt twice in 2000 pleaded no contest to charges that he violated a domestic violence injunction, but a judge withheld a ruling of guilt.
Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Doll on Monday said the Sheriff's Office would have no comment until the department is formally served with the suit.
