BUFFALO, N.Y. — A former jail deputy for the Erie County Sheriff's Office has been sentenced for two separate crimes involving women.
Robert M. Dee, 42, of Eden pleaded guilty to one count of Official Misconduct and one count of Criminal Contempt in the Second Degree earlier this year. On Monday, Dee was sentenced to three years of probation.
The Erie County District Attorney's office says that while Dee was working as a jail deputy for the sheriff's office, he failed to report inappropriate conduct with a female inmate from March 19, 2019 and May 29, 2019. Dee admitted to asking for and getting the inmate's phone number. After the inmate was released from custody, Dee called the former inmate by phone, which is violation of protocol that requires a deputy to report contact with a former inmate.
In a separate incident, deputies responded to a 911 call at Dee's Town of Eden home on January 4, 2022.
Deputies found another female inside Dee's home. An order of protection had been issued for a prior incident and Dee was not to have contact with the woman.
Dee was fired from his job at the Erie County Sheriff's office in May of 2022, but as part of his guilty plea, he signed an official resignation letter and agreed not to seek arbitration regarding his job at the sheriff's office.
Sheriff John Garcia issued the following statement on Tuesday:
“Now that the sentencing phase of Robert Dee’s criminal case and plea deal is over, I want to commend the hard work of my detectives and the district attorney’s office, which brought us to this day. This individual’s conduct is not accepted in my administration, and his sentence should send a message to anyone who serves the public. That message is they will be investigated and prosecuted whenever they violate their oath and tear at the trust between the public and those who swear to protect the public.”
