(RepublicanDaily.org) – Two police officers in Columbus, Ohio are under investigation after a female officer responding to a distraught call for help from a father appeared to threaten his 11-year old daughter with child pornography charges.
The father, Billy Blocka, called police after he discovered that his 11-year-old daughter sent explicit images of herself to a child predator through the internet.
“I just wanted someone to talk to her,” he told the police officers who responded to his call.
“She could probably get charged with child porn,” a female officer told him in response. The officer went on to insist that the child could still be charged – despite her being only 11-years-old – because she was the one “creating” the images, and seemingly ignored the father’s concern that his daughter was being manipulated by a “grown *** adult on the internet.”
The exchange between the father and the officers was captured through the house’s doorbell camera.
The father then posted the encounter on his TikTok account, where it became viral, garnering close to a million views.
When Police Chief Elaine Bryant was made aware of the video, she said that the department immediately reached out to Blocka to apologize for the conduct of the officers. She also assured the family that the officers would be investigated, and more importantly, a full investigation into the online predator would be made. In a statement, Bryant also said that the video posted by Blocka “did not reflect” the “compassion, decency, and dignity” that officers are supposed to treat victims of crimes with. The case has been referred to the Inspector General, the police chief added.
The father became alerted to the possibility that his daughter was a victim of an online predator after he found inappropriate messages and images on his daughter’s phone. He said that he eventually found out that the man initially reached out to his daughter on Instagram and eventually moved their conversations to Snapchat, which periodically deletes messages. He said the man is still trying to get in touch with his daughter.
Blocka and his daughter were set to meet with agents from Special Victims Bureau in hopes that the criminal who victimized his daughter would be caught and put away.
“I don’t want my baby to go through this again. She needs to be safe,” Blocka told CNN.
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