Detroit police officer charged, suspended, for sending inappropriate messages to 12-year-old girl
A Detroit police officer has been arraigned on a charge related to sexually explicit text messages sent to a 12-year-old girl.
The Warren Police Department and Macomb County Prosecutor's Office, both of whom are investigating the case, gave that information in press releases Tuesday, relating that the officer, Earl Raynard Anderson Jr., is accused of accosting a child for immoral purposes, a four-year felony.
The arraignment hearing was at 37th District Court in Warren. He pleaded not guilty, and his next court date is a probable cause conference on March 18.
The case involves a report made in February by a parent of sexually explicit text messages sent to the 12-year-old.
As the Warren Police Department Special Victims Division investigated the situation, they learned that "numerous sexualized messages" were sent to her "during late-night and early-morning hours." Although the victim was instructed to delete the message, officers were able to recover information that corroborated with her account of events.
The case was presented to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office, which authorized the felony charge.
Anderson was taken into custody without incident on Monday.
"The safety and well-being of our children is our top priority. We should be able to trust police officers to protect our children, not prey on them. These charges reflect our commitment to holding offenders accountable, no matter their position, and ensuring justice for the most vulnerable members of our community," said Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said in his statement.
In the meantime, Detroit Police Department has placed Anderson on administrative leave.
Warren police ask that anyone with information regarding this case or potential additional victims contact Detective Talos at 586-574-4816 or jtalos@warrenpd.org.
