A veteran Washington, D.C., police officer was allegedly caught sending horrendous messages to a person he believed to be a 15-year-old male.
Lt. Matthew Mahl was placed on administrative leave at the D.C. Metro Police Department after being arrested on Tuesday in Harford County, Maryland, on charges of sexual solicitation of a minor and two counts of child porn solicitation.
‘It really is a horrific tragedy when we think about the impact that this could have on young people.’
Mahl, 47, had been the head of the Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit of MPD before he was elected to head the union, officially called the Labor Committee of the Fraternal Order of Police, in 2016.
He is accused of seeking to have sex with a person he believed to be a male teenager after meeting them on the Reddit online platform in a thread titled, “r/GayYoungOldDating.”
Mahl acknowledged that he believed the person’s age to be 15 on multiple occasions in the online conversations, charging documents claimed.
Mahl sent sexually explicit photos and messages to the person in an exchange that lasted about a month, according to prosecutors. He also allegedly acknowledged that he was an officer and could face serious consequences if caught.
“I have it all to lose,” he allegedly wrote.
He was arrested after police say he traveled to Harford County in hopes of meeting the teenager, who was actually an undercover officer.
MPD said they were not aware of the initial investigation into Mahl.
“The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing, and in direct contrast to the values of the Metropolitan Police Department,” read a statement from the department. “MPD’s Internal Affairs Division will investigate violations of MPD policy once the criminal investigation concludes.”
On Wednesday, Mahl was ordered to remain in jail without bail.
Prosecutors referred to him as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” during the bail hearing.
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Turnaround rape crisis CEO Amanda Rodriguez called the allegations “awful” in a statement to CBS News.
“These are individuals that the kids should be able to put their trust in. So it’s not just a tragedy, it really is a horrific tragedy when we think about the impact that this could have on young people trusting those that they really often need … for their own safety.”
She added, “We need to hold folks in law enforcement and, again, in these other higher areas of authority to a level to ensure that that trust is always able to be there.”
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