Florida vet school employee arrested on lewd and lascivious behavior charge

Editors' note: This article has been updated to reflect that the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine has terminated Sanetz's employment.

Daniel Joseph Sanetz, 46, an associate director of human resources at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, was arrested on April 6 on charges of lewd and lascivious behavior toward a victim between the ages of 12 and 16, according to an arrest report from the Alachua County Sheriff's Department. The charge is a felony.

On January 20, the sheriff's department responded to a report of sexual battery in which Sanetz was identified as the defendant, according to the report. In an interview with the sheriff's office's child protection team Feb. 1, the victim said Sanetz entered the tent where she and Sanetz's daughter were sleeping. He lay down beside his daughter while the victim was lying on the other side of the tent. Sanetz then reached over and began rubbing the victim's hip, rested his hand on her knee and later got up and left the tent.

Fifteen to 30 minutes later, Sanetz returned to the tent and lay back down, the victim continued. He began touching her hip again and then began rubbing the small of her back. Sanetz then moved his hand inside the victim's pants, and she "did not move because she was terrified," the report states. Sanetz then began touching her more intimately. The victim said she turned her body, which forced Sanetz's hand out of her pants, and got up and walked to the house, where she told an adult about the incident.

On April 6, the victim participated in a controlled phone call with Sanetz where he admitted to touching her inappropriately and also said multiple times he was sorry, according to the arrest report. Sanetz was then placed under arrest and charged with lewd or lascivious battery, the report states.

After his arrest Sanetz was being held in the Alachua County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bond, but after a hearing on April 16 he was released on his own recognizance on the condition that he have no contact with the victim's family or children under 18 and that he be fitted with an electronic monitoring device. He also must not have unsupervised contact with his two children, the judge's order says, and he must refrain from possessing firearms or weapons.

Margot Winick, director of news and content management at the University of Florida, told dvm360 that the university has terminated Sanetz's employment. According to a College of Veterinary Medicine newsletter, Sanetz had worked at the university for more than 20 years.