MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A former school resource officer was arrested on Monday over accusations that he had “inappropriate sexual contact” with a teen, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said that the officer — identified as Christian Linan, 34 — had served as a school resource officer at Dunnellon High School since August 2022.
However, detectives became aware of the issue last week after a former student — who is now an adult — told a counselor about her relationship with Linan, deputies added.
In a release, investigators said they discovered that Linan began having sexual contact with the teen in 2019, when she was 15 years old.
According to the victim, she and Linan had sex several times while she was still underage, the release shows.
The sheriff’s office announced that after interviewing Linan, detectives found enough evidence to place him under arrest.
Linan resigned from his position, though he served with the sheriff’s office since September 2016, the release says.
“Every day, I have a thousand employees working hard and doing what’s right. So it hurts each one of us when someone does something like this and casts a shadow over the good that the rest of these deputies are doing,” Sheriff Billy Woods said. “All of my deputies know the standards I set for the Office of Sheriff. In fact, they take an oath to uphold those standards and they know that I have zero tolerance for this kind of action. I am glad that the victim had the courage to come forward and let us know.”
Linan faces four counts of lewd or lascivious battery on a juvenile victim.