Villager Peggy Klemm, the woman at the center of the now infamous “Sex on the Square” case, is back home following her release early Saturday morning from the Sumter County Detention Center.
She marked a birthday while in jail and is now 30 pounds lighter. But she is grateful to God and her family for the power of forgiveness.
She reached out to Villages-News.com to talk about her experience.
“The hardest part is trying to forgive myself,” said the 69-year-old mother of four and grandmother of 13.
“Without God, my faith, my family and friends and even strangers, I could not have endured the punishment,” she said.
Klemm was originally arrested in April on a charge of driving under the influence. At the time, she had been operating a golf cart in Lake Sumter Landing. That charge was reduced to reckless driving and on May 30 in Sumter County Court before Judge Thomas Skidmore. The Village of Pennecamp resident was placed on probation. Three days later, she and a Summerfield man were arrested by a Sumter County sheriff’s deputy while they were on stage at Lake Sumter Landing, allegedly unclothed and having sex. Initially, she made bond, but surrendered herself June 17 on a probation violation.
On July 30, she again found herself before Judge Skidmore who sentenced her to 180 days in jail. The man in the case had received a similar sentence about a month earlier. Both had pleaded no contest to the charges.
She said she had known the man prior to the infamous night and felt bad that he too had ended up behind bars.
While she was in jail, Klemm said fellow inmates knew about the “Sex on the Square” case.
“They thought it was a joke,” she said. “There were people in there who had done far worse things.”
While in jail, Klemm worked in the laundry, earning “good time” and “work time” toward her early release.
When she walked out of the jail early Saturday morning, her husband Frank was there to pick her up.
“He is a wonderful man,” she said.
The legal fees and $50-per-day incarceration fees have cost the couple dearly and they have had to cash in some life insurance policies.
But Klemm said she is seeing life through a different lens since her release.
“It’s just amazing to look up and see the birds and the sky,” she said.
And she looks forward to helping people who may find themselves in a difficult situation.
“I will pay forward all of the love and kindness and support shown by friends and family,” Klemm said.
