Ohio police are investigating reports of officers threatening to charge an 11-year-old girl after her father reported she had sent pictures to an “online predator.”
In a video posted on social media, Columbus officers are seen telling an unidentified man that his young daughter could face charges for ”child porn,” the Associated Press reported.
The man reportedly complained to police that his daughter was manipulated into sending the images to a man online.
The girl’s father can be heard saying he wanted someone to talk to his daughter to get her “to realise what this was.”
An officer is then heard telling the father his daughter “could probably get charged with child porn” if she produced the images.
Told the girl is only 11, the officer then replies: “Doesn’t matter. She’s still making porn.”
The girl’s father told police officers his daughter is being manipulated by an adult on the internet, according to the video, before the officer asks whether the girl is taking pictures. The man then breaks off the conversation.
It’s unclear when the interaction took place, but the social media poster said the officers’ response occurred six hours after the man’s call to police.
Columbus Police said on Monday the city’s Department of the Inspector General has opened an inquiry into the incident.
The department said it is investigating the video posted on social media “involving two officers responding to a call for service.”
Police said they regard all sexual misconduct allegations “with the utmost seriousness” and “incidents involving minors are handled with the highest degree of concern.”
Detectives with the sexual assault unit were immediately notified and have since initiated an investigation
