Photo: CBS 12
Authorities on the Treasure Coast say the cold case murder of an eleven year old girl has been solved.
"Detectives have named former deputy James Howard Harrison as the only probable suspect in the case."
But Chief Deputy Brian Hester with the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office says the former employee of the agency can't be arrested for the 1983 case because he died 14 years ago.
Cold Case Detectives Paul Taylor says Harrison sexually assaulted and killed Lora Ann Huizar and then tampered with evidence at the scene.
He says Harrison was employed at nine other law enforcement agencies in Florida and and as a church pastor.
"I hope there's no other victims and that this is the only one but I would say the chances are that he was preying on these young juvenile females."
Harrison exhibited a pattern of inappropriate behavior involving juvenile females during his career, something the current Sheriff Ken Mascara noticed when the two worked together as deputies.
Nothing was done about it, with his higher-ups saying that as a pastor, Harrison mentored at-risk youth.
Mascara says in hindsight, he thinks law enforcement may have missed something there.
"I wonder if he was using his authority as a deputy sheriff and his standing as a preacher in the community to go ahead and violate children during the entire course of his life."
Harrison worked for nine other law enforcement agencies across the state, including the Orange and Osceola County Sheriff's Offices. Work is now underway to find out whether there are other victims left behind.
Taylor says "Nobody dislikes a bad cop more than a good cop, and it felt bittersweet to finally provide the victim’s family with some long awaited answers."
"I've been in law enforcement 30 years. That day was my best day in law enforcement and it was also my worst day because I am actually standing in front of this victim's family and I'm telling them one of our deputies is the one that did it."
Taylor says homicide investigations are conducted much more thoroughly today than they were 38 years ago, adding that there were a lot of steps that were missed. But he says he works with some of the best detectives in the world.
This case touched him on a personal level and Taylor explains that in the video above.