An Arapahoe County, Colorado, Sheriff’s deputy resigned last week in the midst of a department internal investigation into her performing in adult videos, jobs she says she took out of economic “desperation."

Shannon Lofland, a 21-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, told CBS News Colorado she started performing in adult videos because "I was desperate, I was drowning. I found a legal, lucrative means for providing that support for my family that I needed at that time to save my home for them and feed my family."

The 44-year-old wife and mother had been the sheriff's office driver training instructor for years, a job she said she loved up until she submitted her resignation on Tuesday Dec. 3.

The sheriff's office launched an internal investigation into the deputy after learning she had been appearing in online sex videos. The department did not say how they learned of her online videos. Lofland admitted she had likely violated department policies by not obtaining advance authorization from the department for outside employment, which she says would probably not have been granted.

She said her husband supported her decision and she didn't tell family members or friends what she was doing to make ends meet.