VERO BEACH — An inmate at the Indian River County Jail faces a new felony charge after authorities say he slipped away from a barbecue event for charity to have sex with a woman in a portable toilet.
The inmate, Hartley Elliot Sanchez, 35, was a trustee whose job was to help serve food at the event when he wandered off, an arrest report from the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said.
Surveillance video showed Sanchez abandoning his post, walking behind a boat display near the portable toilets and conversing with two women, according to the report. Making sure no one was watching, a woman went into a toilet and Sanchez went in shortly after.
The duo re-emerged separately a little while later.
When deputies asked him about it, Sanchez acknowledged the encounter and offered that investigators should check out the video, according to investigators.
They identified the woman as a former inmate by matching footage to booking photos.
Sanchez, who was awaiting sentencing at the time, now faces one count of prisoner escape or attempted escape under Florida law. He is being held without bond.
Under state law 944.40, even briefly stepping out of an assigned work area while in custody can count as an escape attempt. The incident occurred on Wednesday.
The BBQ is an annual event where profits and donations go to benefit the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches, an organization that helps at-risk children throughout our state.
