CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — A Jacksonville sheriff's officer is facing charges in Clay County for soliciting a child online.
Alejandro Carmona, a 47-year-old JSO officer, is charged with one count of online solicitation of a child, one count of transmission of harmful material to a child and one count of unlawful use of a two-way device. Clay County Undersheriff Ron Lendvay and Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Undersheriff Pat Ivey announced the charges in a news conference Wednesday morning.
Investigators received a tip that an officer befriended a Clay County 16-year-old boy at the My Time Fitness gym in Lake Asbury. The victim, a high school student, believed he was going to receive workout advice from Carmona, investigators said.
Carmona requested the victim to send him photos on Snapchat with his shirt off, investigators said, and sent the boy full-frontal nude photos, photos of his face and photos of him in his police uniform.
Clay County deputies arrested Carmona Tuesday. He posted bond and was released, investigators said.
Carmona is a 15-and-a-half-year veteran with JSO, Ivey said. He was placed on emergency suspension without pay and refused the option to resign. JSO is now seeking termination of Carmona's job, Ivey said.
This is the fourth JSO police officer to be arrested in 2022, police said.
The Clay County Sheriff's Office said that there are sometimes multiple victims in these types of cases. They urged anyone with any information to report it as soon as possible. You can call the Clay County Sheriff's Office at 904-264-6512 or remain anonymous by calling First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.
Police said parents should stay involved in their kids' online lives and stress the importance of cyber safety.
"You really have to be a nosy parent," police said. "Being involved is the primary protection technique."
A Clay County Sheriff's Office detective in the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit received information that a 16-year-old victim was being exploited online by Carmona, according to an arrest warrant.
A judge set bond for Carmona at $100,009 for all three charges, the warrant says. He was also ordered to have no contact with the victim, no internet access and no contact with any minors other than his own children.