A former Orange County deputy was arrested after he performed an exorcism on one child, and armed another with a rifle, instructing them to shoot anyone who came into the home.
Deputies responded to a residence Thursday, where investigators found Christopher Dougherty, 37, and two children, all in possession of weapons, according to his arrest affidavit.
According to an arrest warrant, a child told deputies that Dougherty armed her with a rifle, bulletproof vest and Kevlar helmet and told her to lie down in a bedroom and shoot anyone who entered after he performed an exorcism on another child.
Dougherty, who had been with the sheriff’s department since 2006, was taken to the hospital and held under the Baker Act for mental health evaluation, and was arrested upon his release.
Deputies said that Dougherty was arrested on charges of child abuse on Sunday, the same day that he had been terminated from his position for “an unsatisfactory performance finding in a separate matter.”