Latest Officers Arrested; Child Pornography, Child Solicitation, Child Abuse
Officer Arrested for Child Pornography
Ohio – Samuel Kurp, a police officer with the Elmore Police Department, was arrested on Tuesday for receiving and distributing child pornography. Someone left a “cyber tip” for authorities which was eventually routed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The tip gave information about a person who was using social media to pass sexual child abuse photos and videos. The FBI opened a case and traced the IP address which led them to Samuel Kurp. The FBI confirmed with the Elmore Police Department that Kurp was employed as an officer with them. An investigation of the time when the images were transmitted confirmed that Officer Kurp was sending the images while on duty.
Samuel Kurp has been with the Elmore Police Department since 2017, no information has been given on his age. According to WTOL 11, “Two federal search warrants were executed by the FBI: one in Oregon where the child pornography had been sent or received and one at his most recent address in Elmore.”
Officer Arrested for Child Solicitation
40-year old Officer Matthew Blakeley, with the Anderson Police Department, was arrested for Child Solicitation on Tuesday. This one is kind of confusing. Blakeley had been an officer with the Alexandria Police Department prior to being with Anderson PD. According to The Herald Bulletin,
“Matthew Blakeley was hired as a lateral transfer from the Alexandria Police Department on May 29, according to a press release from the Anderson Police Department. He was placed on paid leave June 30, where he remains until a specially appointed prosecutor reviews the results of the investigation to determine if formal charges will be filed.”
Why would the Anderson Police Department take an officer who has been accused of child molestation? If you click on the link for The Herald Bulletin above, you will see that their original article was posted on September 17, 2019. Anderson PD hired him in May of this year. Sure, the Indiana State Police didn’t begin an investigation until June but there is no way Anderson PD didn’t know what Blakeley was accused of. If they really didn’t, then they have some unbelievably incompetent hiring practices. Blakeley is accused of inappropriately touching the child.
According to Fox 59, “The investigation centered around an incident that occurred in 2002 involving a victim who was under the age of 10 at the time and was known by Blakeley.”
Officer Arrested for Custodial Sexual Relations
Utah – Officer Michael Jones, with the Price City Police Department, was arrested on Tuesday for having sexual relations with an individual who was on probation. Multiple women on probation have come out to accuse Officer Jones of having sexual relations with them. He has denied all the claims except one. He has admitted to the allegations about the most recent woman he was accused of having sexual contact with. According to KUTV,
“She told us that she was aware that this relationship was not allowed, because he was a police officer and that she was on probation. She also informed us that Mike had told her to not tell anyone about their relationship, specifically her probation officer and drug court tracker because they were required to report this,” the probable cause affidavit stated.
30-year old Michael Jones, who was hired by the Price City Police Department in February and who is a mixed martial arts competitor, was booked into the Emory County Jail.
Officer Arrested for Injury to a Child
Texas – An officer with the Temple Police Department was arrested on Friday for an incident that occurred on June 28. Officer Jerrod McCoy was at the Bass Pro Shop when his 4-year old son started acting up. Witnesses said that McCoy was yelling at the child and eventually took him outside. Once outside, McCoy spanked the child. Apparently that wasn’t enough for McCoy. According to KXXV.com, “Officers interviewed the store manager who said he saw McCoy hit the child in the face with a backhand causing him to “reel” backwards.”
When officers arrived at the store they saw a scrape on the child’s face and blood on his shirt but McCoy said the scrape was from the child bouncing around in the cart. He also told the officers that the child frequently got nose bleeds and that was where the blood came from. He denied striking the child and said he only administered discipline. It wasn’t until the middle of July that it was discovered that the store security system had caught the incidents on video. The spanking was somewhat blocked by a sign but the strike to the face was captured, showing the child falling backwards after having been hit.
Michael McCoy must have been given some notice that his arrest was imminent. He resigned from the Temple Police Department on Tuesday, August 4 and was arrested on August 7. His bond was set at $30,000. He posted bond and was released the same day. McCoy’s assignment with the Temple Police Department had been as a resource officer with the Temple Independant School District.