City Mayor Arrested On Sex Charges www.privateofficer.com

MASCOTTE Fla. Nov. 6 2007- Allegations against Mayor Jeff Krull, who was arrested on Monday night on sex charges, came to light during an investigation of a gun theft from Krull’s house, police Chief Steve Allen said this morning.Krull is accused of molesting two girls and one boy, ranging in age from 13 to 16, according to Allen. The charges relate to touching and rubbing of children who visited his home, according to Allen.Krull was close to many city employees including Allen.
I was very sad and disappointed,” Allen, who arrested Krull before a City Council meeting, said at a news conference at the police department. “It was the saddest day of my job.” He said he had no choice but to arrest Krull, and that if he could prevent one child from being molested it was worth it.Police in the southwest Lake County city arrested Krull on eve of today’s city elections and Krull’s bid for a second term as mayor.
Krull, 66, was charged with six counts of lewd and lascivious molestation and one count of showing lewd and lascivious material to a minor. Allen would not say who reported the allegations against Krull except that it was not the victims or their parents. A computer taken from Krull’s home will be searched for child pornography, Allen added.
Meanwhile, Krull was taken to South Lake Hospital on Monday night with chest pain.Krull’s longtime girlfriend and Mascotte council member-elect Barbara Tillman said she and Krull drove to the city building on Sunset Avenue just before 6:30 p.m. Monday. Tillman said Krull got out of the vehicle and spoke with Allen before the arrest. Officers then took Krull to the city police station. He was expected to be booked at the Lake County Jail after his release from the hospital.”I know Jeff would not do anything to hurt a child,” Tillman said.City Manager Marge Strausbaugh said she informed other City Council members about Krull’s arrest just before their meeting.Allen said the arrest occurred Monday night because the investigation had come together at that point.
He chose to arrest Krull in a public place because the mayor has weapons at his home and Allen didn’t want Krull to harm himself, police or the public.Krull is running for re-election today against Felix Ramirez, who is leaving City Council Seat 1 to challenge him for mayor. Tillman, who previously served on the council next to Krull, filed election papers to run for Seat 1 and is not challenged by any other candidates.Ramirez also is father-in-law to fellow council member Stephen Elmore, who will run for re-election to Seat 5 against Louise Thompson — one of Krull’s neighbors in a neighborhood off South Bay Lake Road.His biography on the city’s Web site also says he volunteered as a reading tutor and an assistant CPR instructor for the American Red Cross. He was a volunteer for the Boy Scouts of America and Habitat for Humanity. And he has four adult children and six grandchildren.Krull and Tillman have lived in Mascotte for about six years.They often have neighborhood children around their house, where Tillman said Monday they sometimes used the computer to download programs from the Internet. Publicly, Krull has been a colorful member of the City Council.He proudly wore a badge on his belt that identified him as the mayor.
He drove around the 4,000-resident community with a sign on his car that also identified him as mayor.

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