Pennsylvania police officer arrested and charged after uploading videos of him having sex with minor on adult website

Pennsylvania police officer arrested and charged after uploading videos of him having sex with minor on adult website

A Pennsylvania police officer was arrested after he allegedly filmed himself having sex with a 17-year-old girl and uploaded the videos online, and then later attempted to chat up another 14-year-old girl who turned out to be an undercover detective.  

According to Leigh Valley Live, 33-year-old Joshua Padilla, an officer at the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office,  was arrested last Friday, February 1, by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and Pennsylvania Police on felony child porn and sex assault charges stemming from events that unfolded last Spring.

Padilla has been suspended without pay (Source: Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office)
Padilla has been suspended without pay (Source: Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office)
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Authorities revealed they were tipped off about Padilla's misconduct last month and were made aware of his relationship with a 17-year-old girl in Northampton County. Having met her online sometime in April or May 2018, the 33-year-old reportedly recorded himself engaging in sexual acts with the teen and uploaded the videos to adultfrienddinfer.com, where they were watched and shared with several others.

After they opened an investigation against Padilla, they set up a trap where an undercover officer posed as a 14-year-old girl and began texting him. Padilla responded and began sending her sexually explicit messages where he said he would perform sexual acts on her. At one point, he sent her two photos of his genitals and then asked her for photos of herself.

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A news release from State Attorney General Josh Shapiro states that after Padilla's arrest, he was charged with unlawful contact with a minor, obscene materials and other sexual performances, and sexual abuse of children — manufacturing, disseminating and possessing child pornography. The charges are first, second, and third-degree felonies respectively.

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Law Enforcement Today reported that Padilla joined the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office in 2015 after he successfully graduated from the 89th Basic Course for Police Officers at the Monmouth Police Academy which required him to complete a 20-week program with 780 hours of training.



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Payroll information obtained by Leigh Valley Live through a public records request showed Padilla had an annual salary of $56,990. Middlesex County Sheriff Mildred S. Scott said that following the felony charges brought against him, the 33-year-old had been suspended without pay.

Padilla, of Eatontown, Monmouth County, New Jersey, is currently in police custody in New Jersey and is waiting to be extradited to Northampton County. It is not known if he has obtained legal counsel. 

Shapiro has asked that anyone with additional information pertaining to the case to contact the Child Predator Section hotline at 1-800-385-1044.

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