- March 10, 2025
A Flagler County Sheriff’s Office employee was arrested Friday on charges of misuse of public office, a third-degree felony, after allegedly releasing information about an active criminal investigation about her son.
Last week, Sheriff Jim Manfre launched an investigation into Elizabeth Cretella based on an internal complaint that she had accessed files from an investigation into her son, Robert Allen, and told him their content.
“She abused the system, which is an internal system used only for police purposes, for her own personal purposes,” Manfre said, adding that Cretella worked in the Accreditation Unit, where she was responsible for ensuring compliance with agency policies.
“It’s been made very apparent to her that this is a violation of Sheriff’s Office policy and is also criminal activity,” Manfre said.
Cretella was arrested on a Flagler County warrant at her home in Edgewater by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Volusia County Jail with bond set at $2,000. The investigation was conducted by the Sheriff’s Investigative Services Division and is continuing.
Cretella has been an employee of the Sheriff’s Office since 2006.
In September, the Sheriff’s Office received a sworn complaint that accused Allen of lewd and lascivious activity with a seven-year-old. Cretella read the files, called her son and told him to be careful, according to a charging affidavit.
As part of the investigation into Cretella, officials interviewed Allen, who admitted that his mom warned him about the charges.
The case against Allen was eventually dropped for lack of evidence.
Manfre said the complaint against Cretella came several months ago, before he took office.
“It shows the lapse in standards in this agency under its prior administration,” Manfre said.
Another employee, Wendy Bentzley, is currently being investigated in conjunction with the incident, Manfre said. Bentzley came across the report against Allen and asked Cretella if she wanted a printed copy of it, according to the affidavit.
Allen’s wife, Kelly Allen, was interviewed during the investigation as well. She told Sheriff’s Office officials that Cretella told her husband about the investigation against him, but said if anyone asked where he learned of it, to say Bentzley pulled the report, according to the affidavit.
Manfre said the Sheriff’s Office feels it has enough evidence to terminate Cretella’s employment, but that it handed the case to the state attorney’s office and is waiting to act until learning how state prosecutors want to proceed with the charges.
