HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. — A Lake County Sheriff’s Office internal affairs investigation sustained allegations that former Howey-in-the-Hills Police Chief Michael Giddens violated department policy after engaging in a sexual relationship with the wife of a man he was investigating for felony fraud, according to documents released by the town Thursday.
The investigation began after the Town of Howey-in-the-Hills received an anonymous complaint alleging Giddens had engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with the woman while he was investigating her husband in 2025. Giddens was a lieutenant at the time of the relationship and was appointed police chief in October 2025. Because the complaint involved the town’s police chief, Town Manager Sean O’Keefe requested the Lake County Sheriff’s Office conduct the internal affairs investigation due to the conflict of interest.
The investigation sustained violations of General Order No. 08.00 – Conduct, specifically improper conduct involving moral character and sex on duty. O’Keefe concurred with the findings July 10, more than a month after Giddens resigned.
According to the investigation, Giddens was leading a contractor fraud investigation and signed a probable cause affidavit seeking a felony warrant for the suspect’s arrest on March 14, 2025. Four days later, Giddens first contacted the suspect’s wife, while attempting to locate her husband. What began as conversations related to the investigation became personal and eventually led to two consensual sexual encounters, according to the report.
The woman told investigators the encounters were consensual and that Giddens never threatened or coerced her. She said she later told Giddens they should stop communicating because she did not want Giddens to get into trouble with his wife or lose his job. Investigators corroborated key portions of her account through interviews, hotel records, activity reports and other evidence, according to the report.
The report states the first encounter occurred March 27, 2025, at a hotel in Lady Lake after Giddens told her he had “approval for surveillance.” A second encounter occurred May 30, 2025 after the pair met for lunch. Hotel receipts and Giddens’ activity reports were included in the investigation. She said the only way the pair could get together was during Giddens’ “work time” so his wife didn’t find out and she understood he was at work both times they had sexual encounters.
Through his attorney, Giddens declined investigators’ request for an interview before the investigation was completed.
Giddens resigned June 3 while the investigation was ongoing. In his resignation letter, he wrote that his “private life is being targeted by anonymous individuals driven by personal and political agendas” and said he had “always maintained the highest standards of professional conduct.” He also wrote that he was stepping down “to preserve the integrity of the office of the Chief” and ensure the department remained focused on serving the community.
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