FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – A Jacksonville firefighter arrested last month after he was accused of exposing his sexual organs to a teenage girl at a Fernandina Beach park in March was suspended Tuesday by the city of Jacksonville.
Brandon Patrick Conn, an employee of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department for 11 years, turned himself in May 30 at the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the victim, Conn got out of a white pickup truck parked in front of a public restroom at Seaside Park on March 11. The girl, identified only as being under 16 years old, said Conn did not have any clothes on and showed his “front” to her.
The girl ran to her mother and told her what had happened. According to police, the mother then approached Conn, who denied exposing himself and said he was only changing, adding, "I'm sorry." Conn left the area when she told him she was calling the police.
When questioned by police a month later, Conn told them he had looked around to make sure no one could see him before changing. He said he was confronted by a woman but then drove to Harris Tetter and "did not think anything else of it."
According to the arrest affidavit, Conn, 33, has previously been investigated for voyeurism and sexual offenses.
According to the arrest report, he was investigated in 2005 after he was accused of exposing himself to an 8-year-old girl. In 2009, he was accused by two women of peering over the shower wall at Ginny Springs State Park. The warrant said he was investigated in 2012 after two girls said he exposed himself to juveniles on a Georgia beach.
The only one of those investigations that resulted in criminal charges was the Ginny Springs incident. Court records show he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.
According to the city of Jacksonville, he never reported the incident to management despite employee policy clearly stating that "the employee is responsible to notify JFRD of any arrest within 24 hours of their release from jail."
News4Jax also found Conn was convicted on a misdemeanor DUI charge in 2007.
The city announced Tuesday that Conn has been suspended.
"As soon as we were notified of Mr. Conn’s arrest, he was immediately removed from contact with the public and placed on administrative duties," said Nikki Kimbleton, the city of Jacksonville's director of public affairs. "It took several days to confirm the severity of the charges against him as a result of legal protections to the accused. As soon as that information was confirmed, he was immediately suspended without pay pending adjudication."