A New York sheriff's deputy says in a $50 million lawsuit that an officer asked her to pose naked as part of an undercover operation and now the department can't find the photos.
Krystal Rice alleges that she posed for the suggestive pictures to aid an operation against online pedophiles. In the civil lawsuit, filed Monday, she contends that Jefferson County Sheriff's officials promised her in 2006 that access to the images would be tightly restricted, station WWNY said.
The decision was one she came to regret. The department broke the terms of the deal, the suit states, forcing Rice to endure "intentional infliction of emotional distress," the Watertown Daily Times reported . She also claims that the cop who took pictures of her eventually started harassing her and gossiping that she had sex with multiple people in the department.
By her understanding of the agreement, Rice was entitled to ask for the photos back at any time. However, in February 2009, when Rice requested the floppy disk with the images -- the only existing copy of the photos -- the department told her it couldn't be located.
She now worries about how many people have seen the pics, North County Public Radio said.
Rice also claims a contract outlining how the half-naked pictures of her could be used is missing from her personnel file.
Officials from the sheriff's department won't talk about the allegations or say if anyone's been disciplined.
"We will not be commenting because it's a matter of ongoing litigation," said Undersheriff Andrew Neff to The Huffington Post. "That's all I'm going to tell you."
According to Rice, Detective Steven Cote asked her to participate in the pedophile investigation by pretending to be a 15-year-old girl when she was still in training.
Rice says she was uncomfortable posing in a state of undress, but Cote allegedly persuaded her by showing photos of what he said was another female officer in cutoff jeans and a tight top, according to media reports.
At her photo shoot, however, Rice was supposedly asked to lift her skirt, revealing her thigh and underwear. She also claims she was asked to pose topless, though covering her chest with her hands, said WWNY.
Lt. Michael Peterson -- a supervisor who supposedly authorized the shoot -- tried to assuage her by in March 2009 by saying that the disc had been destroyed, the suit alleges. Later, Peterson told her the photos shouldn't have been taken, according to North Country Public Radio.
Rice also claims in the suit that Cote harassed her, sending unwanted text messages and spreading rumors that she was promiscuous.