By Peter Berton

SEATTLE – A sheriff’s deputy engaged in a bitter divorce battle with his estranged wife found the tables turned on him after he played the prostitution card.

An unnamed deputy in the King County Sheriff’s Office is under investigation for misuse of public property after he accused his wife of sex work in an attempt to discredit her and gain the upper hand in court. Although he avoided implicating himself in his wife’s alleged endeavor, the deputy’s divorce filing claimed “someone” used the department’s computerized database to ensure none of the wife’s alleged clients had criminal backgrounds.

If the sheriff’s office’s suspicions prove true, the deputy also may face charges of promoting prostitution. As yet, the wife has not been charged.

The sheriff’s department placed the deputy, 49, on paid leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Two other deputies alleged to have tipped off the accused officer about the investigation also were placed on administrative leave.

Without confirming the nature of the investigation or the employees involved, King County Sheriff John Urquhart acknowledged the issue in a department-wide email.

“It is not particularly unusual for an employee to go on paid administrative leave during an investigation,” Urquhart wrote. “However, in this case there will undoubtedly be rumors and ‘talk’ going around, so this email is an effort to quell as much of that as I can.”

It is not known how the department learned about the alleged misuse of its database, as divorce filings — but not final rulings — usually are sealed to protect the divorcing couple’s privacy.