Jailer finds himself behind bars

It's not the first time Hernando corrections officer Gregory Christopher Heiser has found himself on the wrong side of the bars, but this time the charges are more serious.

On Tuesday, Pasco deputies arrested the 43-year-old at his Hudson home, accusing him in two unrelated cases of rape and having sex with a 16-year-old girl.

According to an arrest affidavit, in February the girl had sex with Heiser at his home and then again in early May. The teen's mother told Pasco detectives Heiser went to her and professed his love for her daughter, the affidavit states. Heiser also bought the girl a cell phone and gave her a key to his home, according to the report.

The other case involves a 39-year-old woman from an incident on July 15, 2008.

"An acquaintance of his was at his house when he allegedly sexually battered her," said Pasco County Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Doll.

No details were released in that case, but the arrest was made on a warrant.

Hernando County Jail Warden Russell Washburn said Wednesday he is reviewing the case and as of then Heiser was still employed.

"It's viewed as a major concern," he said about the charges.

Heiser was being held Wednesday at the Land O' Lakes Jail on charges of sexual battery and two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. Bail is set at $70,000.

His current surroundings should be familiar to Heiser. From Oct. 30, 2006, to May 29, 2007, Heiser was a detention deputy in Pasco, Doll said. It wasn't clear why he resigned, but two days before his resignation a Florida Highway Patrol trooper arrested him on DUI charges and he was booked into a Pasco jail. He was convicted in September 2007, but his sentence wasn't clear on Wednesday.

Washburn said he was aware of the officer's previous DUI charges before Heiser was hired on April 21, 2008, by Corrections Corporation of America, the private company that runs the jail.

According to Florida Department of Law Enforcement requirements, Washburn said, a misdemeanor conviction doesn't preclude a person from being hired as a corrections officer.

"This profession, the expectation is that the person is a law-abiding citizen," he said.

Heiser's past conviction, as well as the new charges, will weigh heavily in Washburn's decision on Heiser's continued employment. Anything from suspension without pay to firing is possible, he said.

"We don't look at taking a person's career lightly," he said. "We try to get all the information and look at it before making a decision rather a knee-jerk reaction."