A part-time police officer in Delaware County, PA is accused of sending sexually explicit text messages to an underage girl. The officer is identified as 21-year-old Justin Hazelton and he was arrested on August 13. Hazelton is charged with one misdemeanor count of corruption of a minor.
Hazelton is employed as a officer with the Upland Police Department. On July 17 the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office was contacted by the Department of Children and Youth Services who said a minor aged girl was receiving sexually explicit messages from Hazelton, CBS Philadelphia reports.
The messages had been brought to the attention of an attorney with the Department of Children and Youth Services who was working on an unrelated matter that had caused him to examine the contents of the minor girl’s cell phone, the district attorney’s office said.
The girl told authorities she received the text messages through Snapchat. Hazleton was then interviewed and admitted to police that he had sent and received the text messages, the district attorney said.
Hazelton turned himself in at the media courthouse with his attorney. He was arraigned and bail was set at $50,000 unsecured.
