TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A Gadsden County school resource deputy facing sexual battery charges is accused of having sex with a minor while on duty and soliciting minors for sexual favors in exchange for a vape pen, according to arrest documents.
Sedale Canidate was arrested Friday at his Leon County home by U.S. Marshals.
Arrest documents obtained by WCTV Tuesday revealed new details about the allegations from multiple girls between the ages of 15 and 17, that date back to 2024.
According to arrest papers, two students came forward in 2025 with complaints against Canidate.
One student alleged Canidate had purchased her snacks and asked her to come to his office alone.
Another student, who complained against Canidate in 2024, claims he had sex with her while in the SRO office. She told investigators she remembered Canidate going to the school nurse’s office for a condom, according to arrest documents.
That student also told investigators she had a summer job and walked home. On one occasion, Canidate pulled up in a police car and asked if she needed a ride, arrest papers show. She told police she declined several times before Canidate instructed her to get in the car.
Court documents went on to reveal that she told investigators Canidate drove them to an abandoned house in Quincy, where she was made to perform oral sex on him.
Another student claimed Canidate asked if she wanted a vape pen before asking for sex, according to arrest documents.
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Canidate was employed with the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office during the 2024-2025 school year before leaving for a job with the FAMU Police Department. He stayed with FAMU PD for less than a year before returning to the GCSO as a school resource deputy, arrest papers said.
Canidate denied ever having sex with any students and said any relationship with students was respectful. Arrest documents show he admitted to investigators that he had a porn addiction and would masturbate in the SRO office.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement searched the SRO office for DNA and confirmed that part of the samples tested positive for semen.
Canidate is charged with two counts of sexual battery by a law enforcement officer, two counts of attempted solicitation of lewd/lascivious conduct, one count of indecent, lewd/lascivious touching of certain minors and one count of lewd and lascivious conduct.
He was ordered no bond on Monday, according to court documents.
It’s unclear if Canidate is still employed by the sheriff’s office.
WCTV has reached out to GCSO for comment and Canidate’s employment status and has not heard back as of Tuesday afternoon.
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