CALHOUN COUNTY, Mich. – A corrections officer from Calhoun County is charged with having sex with a 15-year-old boy and soliciting sex for money from an 18-year-old man he may have met online.
Troy Pope, 26, appeared in Calhoun County Court for arraignment Tuesday.
He faces one count of third degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of accosting a child for immoral purposes and two counts of soliciting for prostitution.
Michigan State Police say they were contacted Sunday with the accusations.
The information originally came through the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office and the MSP launched an investigation.
Troy was questioned and arrested Monday as he was going into work.
“It’s people that he knew or had become acquainted with at some point in time and kept in contact with them through social networking sites,” said Chuck Christensen, Michigan State Police Detective 1st Lt.
Pope allegedly had sex with a 15-year-old boy in the parking lot of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge in Springfield more than a year ago.
The second accusation alleged Troy solicited sex from an 18-year-old within the past two weeks.
Defense Attorney Thomas Schaeffer says Troy has no prior criminal history and has worked for the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office for four to five years.
Schaeffer says he needs to review the police reports for more information, but did shed light on how the accusations may have come to light.
“My understanding it was generated from a person who was arrested for another crime,” said Schaeffer. “I don’t even know what the crime was.”
Troy’s father, Thomas Pope, a retired undersheriff from Calhoun County, was present in court to support his son.
Troy was given a $25,000 bond and will be staying with his father upon release.
