A New York Police Department (NYPD) officer involved in the department's youth "Police Explorers" programme has been arrested and charged with attempting to have a sexual conversation with an undercover cop whom he thought to be a 14-year-old girl.
Travis DeSouza, 35, assigned to the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn, was taken into custody for allegedly sexting an undercover police officer posing as a young girl from the program, The NY Post reported.
DeSouza, a 13-year veteran of the NYPD, was charged with child endangerment on Thursday for sending sexually explicit content to an undercover cop, officials said.
In Brooklyn, he was charged with first-degree attempted dissemination of explicit content to minors, third-degree attempted endangerment of a child's welfare, and third-degree obscenity, the report added.
Last October, DeSouza's actions came under scrutiny while working with the Police Explorers program, which prepares youths interested in law enforcement between the ages of 14 and 20.
According to the complaint, under the guise of a young participant in the Police Explorers program, an adult undercover cop approached DeSouza and asked for his phone number.
Officials said DeSouza openly acknowledged she was a minor and yet carried on with the explicit sexual advances and innuendos through texts and social media.
According to the lawsuit, the officer also sent the "teen girl" a photo of himself in boxer shorts with an erection.
"And I don't know even why you got me thinking things I shouldn't because of how far we are of age LOL I should be telling you to stop..." DeSouza allegedly wrote in a Snapchat message to the undercover agent.
But your maturity and the way you act is different, he added.
On Thursday, the NYPD announced that Officer DeSouza was put on unpaid leave.
The charges against him include third-degree obscenity, official misconduct, attempted endangering the welfare of a child, and first-degree attempted publication of indecent material to children in Queens court.
According to court documents, the former police officer was released on Thursday without posting bail.
