Cop who taught dangers of ‘sexting’ sent improper Snapchats to teens, GA police say
A Cartersville, Georgia police lieutenant has resigned in lieu of termination after an investigation revealed he sent dozens of inappropriate messages to middle school students, police say.
Former police Lt. Ryan Prescott sent the messages via the social media app Snapchat, according to documents first reported by The Daily Tribune News. Authorities said Prescott, who worked as a school resource officer at Cartersville Middle School, quit his post shortly after the probe began March 2.
Precott’s conduct came into question after the assistant superintendent for the Cartersville School System contacted the city’s police chief, Frank McCann, records show. The then-lieutenant was called into an interview with Deputy Chief Jason DiPrima, during which Prescott acknowledged texting with three female students.
“Prescott stated that he taught several classes at the school, to include ‘Sexting and Social Media,’” DiPrima wrote in a report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “However, Prescott stated he was unfamiliar with some of the forms of social media, specifically Snapchat.”
Prescott said one of his students, an eighth grader, taught him how to use the app and helped him download it on his cell phone, according to DiPrima’s report. That’s when Prescott began using the app to message that student and at least two others at CMS.
Prescott was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. He would submit his resignation a day later, the documents state.
Messages recovered from his phone show the lieutenant asked one student, “Do all your friends know you like girls [sic] butt?” Prescott, using the screen name “Bubba Ryan,” also inquired about the student’s sexual preferences and asked her to send a photo of her girlfriend, according to the AJC.
“If you give a (expletive) about what I think. I honestly think you should be open minded,” he wrote in another message, according to screenshots .“I’m not against it but choices in life affect your future.”
In a message to students date March 1, records show Prescott joked: “I’m drunk texting everyone lol,” according to a screenshot obtained by the newspaper.
When DiPrima confronted him about the messages, “Prescott agreed that they may appear inappropriate but that was not his intent,” the deputy chief wrote in his report, according to the Tribune News.
The parent of one student argued otherwise, telling DiPrima that her daughter indicated that Prescott “had other conversations with other students that were more explicit, such as ‘hooking up at school,” authorities said.
In another exchange obtained by police, Prescott told a student he was going to delete Snapchat because he feared “I’m being set up.”
An internal investigation determined Prescott had violated several standard CPD procedures as it pertains to police conduct and social media use, according to DiPrima’s report.
“The content of these messages was unprofessional and inappropriate to the extent that it reflects negatively on the agency, violates public trust, discredits the agency and causes embarrassment to the agency in the eye of the public we serve,” DiPrima wrote, according to the Tribune News.
The investigation has since been turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which decided not to pursue the matter, Cartersville Assistant City Attorney Keith Lovell told the newspaper.
Authorities say criminal charges aren’t expected.
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 7:33 PM with the headline "Cop who taught dangers of ‘sexting’ sent improper Snapchats to teens, GA police say."