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Police Officer Who Works As School Security Guard Arrested For Sexual Conversations With Minor

(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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A Fort Lauderdale, Florida, police officer who worked as a school security guard was arrested Wednesday for allegedly having “sexual conversations” with an undercover cop who was posing as a minor, police said.

Louis James Walsh, 29, was arrested on two counts of transmission of material harmful to a minor, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) announced in a press release.

Detectives received a tip Tuesday from a Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigators Taskforce alerting them a Fort Lauderdale officer was engaging in online chats with someone who he thought was a minor. (RELATED: Police Officer, Wife Accused Of Recording Sex With A Minor)

Detectives used a photo from Minnesota detectives and were able to identify the suspect as Walsh, according to the press release.

During at least two occasions, Walsh allegedly “engaged in sexual conversations with an undercover detective who he believed was a minor female,” according to the press release.

Walsh allegedly sent the investigators posing as the minor a photo of himself that “exposed his private area.”

Detectives later determined Walsh worked a security detail while off-duty at Cardinal Gibbons High School and St. Anthony Catholic School. Walsh also served as a wrestling coach at Cardinal Gibbons, according to the press release.

The Fort Lauderdale Police department called it a “difficult situation” in a statement, according to NBC Miami.

“This is a difficult situation for everyone involved. The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is shocked and disappointed to learn of the arrest of one of our officers,” the department said. “The details surrounding these allegations are very difficult to hear and do not reflect the character and professionalism expected of the men and women of this agency.”

Walsh has been placed on administrative leave without pay as the investigation continues, the department said, according WSVN.

The investigation remains ongoing.