An Atkinson County deputy has been fired after he allegedly sent messages to a 16-year-old female asking for inappropriate photos.
According to Atkinson County Sheriff David Moore, the deputy, Jesse Booth, was fired last week after the girl’s father reported the messages to Sheriff Moore. Though Booth was employed at the time he sent the messages, he was not on duty.
At the moment, Booth has not been charged with a crime. According to Sheriff Moore, Booth knew what lines he could and could not cross to avoid criminal charges. “He may not have crossed the fence but he stood all over it,” stated Sheriff Moore.
After being fired, Booth attempted to get hired at a department at a neighboring county. However, officials in that department had learned of the alleged incident and did not hire him.
Sheriff Moore stated that though the former deputy has not been charged with anything yet, there could still be charges forthcoming as the investigation progresses.
“You expect grown people to do the right thing. You try to teach and instruct them how to behave properly. You just expect them to do right. We terminated the deputy as soon as we found out what was happening. It was just too creepy to defend,” said Sheriff Moore.