THOMASVILLE — Bob Brettel has done it all in local law enforcement — street cop, narcotics agent, investigator — for close to four decades.

On Monday, the 68-year-old Thomas County Sheriff’s Office investigator called it a day after 38 and a half years.

“I always wanted to be a cop when I was younger,” Brettel said.

Describing street and drug work as fun, Brettel preferred investigations.

He worked burglaries, thefts, robberies and murders. In recent years, he worked in the special victims unit investigating crimes against children — sexual and physical abuse.

Said Brettel, “Things people do to children, most people wouldn’t believe it. … Trying to change a pedophile’s sexual preference would be like trying to change anyone else’s sexual preference.”

Munchausen by proxy is a condition manifested when a caretaker, usually a parent, specifically the mother, often someone with medical knowledge, abuses a child to gain attention through the youngster’s sickness or injury.

“Unfortunately, children pay the price for it,” Brettel said.

He recalled a Thomas County abuse case in which a mother kept her son in a box in a closet at night. The mother, who was sentenced to seven years in prison, convinced others her children had various illnesses.

The soft-spoken Brettel said he could not have worked in child sexual and physical abuse when he was younger. 

“My children were young, and I would have taken it personally,” he said.

A Columbus native, Brettel grew up in Columbus and in Jacksonville, Florida. Having served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Brettel is precise about the length of his Vietnam duty: 11 months and 24 days.

He and his wife of 20 years, Carol, have five children and eight grandchildren.

With a bachelor’s in criminal justice and a master’s in rehabilitative counseling, Brettel is a part-time adjunct teacher in the Thomas University counseling program.

A salt-water fisherman, Brettel might like to be charter boat captain, but he does not seem particularly enthusiastic about conquering the high seas.

He has no plans to leave Thomasville. Years ago, Brettel moved to Miami, Florida, for a year when his children were young. It did not last.

“I was so glad to get back. I love Thomasville. I really do,” he said.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820