By Emily Miller
Sun Sentinel
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A probation officer with more than two decades of experience has lost his job after he was arrested on allegations that he sexually battered a parolee during two visits to her home in Coral Springs.
Zachary Thomas Bailey, 50, of Fort Lauderdale, was fired from the Florida Department of Corrections on Wednesday, said McKinley Lewis, the department’s director of communications.
That same day, Bailey was released from jail on $15,000 bond after spending about 12 hours behind bars, records show. He faces two counts of sexual battery on a victim over 12 years of age under special conditions.
This is the first complaint involving Bailey since he was hired by the department on Dec. 1, 1989, Lewis said.
In August 1997, Bailey’s correctional probation senior administrator at the time, along with a Broward Sheriff’s Office supervisor, commended Bailey for his involvement in Operation TACAMO, a joint partnership between the agencies, records show. Bailey was again acknowledged by the senior administrator in April 1999 for his volunteer work for a different operation.
His most recent recognitions came in April and May of 2002, when the regional director of community corrections at the time sent Bailey two memos congratulating him for his “outstanding efforts” regarding contact standards, records show.
Bailey has no previous arrests in Florida, records show. Phone messages left for Bailey were not returned.