Former officer arrested for child porn

GLOUCESTER COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) - The Gloucester County Sheriff's Office arrested a former Hampton police officer accused of child pornography and sending sexual text messages to a 12-year-old.

Clayton Cody Lawrence, 30, of Margaret Drive in Hayes, Va., was charged with one felony count of use of communications systems to facilitate certain offenses involving children and one felony count of production, publication, sale, and financing of child pornography, a news release from the Gloucester County Sheriff's Office said.

On Jan. 26, deputies received a report from the parents of a 12-year-old who had been texting with a man. Deputies said the suspect and child only knew each other through text messaging.

The conversations turned sexual in nature and the two talked about meeting somewhere for a sexual encounter. In addition, deputies said Lawrence sent the 12-year-old a sexually explicit picture of him and requested the child send one as well.

The child's parents learned of the textual relationship and contacted the Sheriff's Office.

As part of a criminal investigation, authorities initiated text conversations with Lawrence using the 12-year-old's cell phone. Lawrence agreed to meet with who he believed was the juvenile in a parking lot on Jan. 27.

"Lt. Little is texting him as we're waiting on him. So when he initially gets to the church, he rides through at one point and then texts and says, 'I'm here, where are you at?' She says, 'I'm here. I'm over by the playground.' So, he pulls in and that led him to the parking lot," Major Darrell Warren, Jr., with the Gloucester Sheriff's Office, said.

What investigators saw next stunned them.

"He had brought his 12-month-old daughter with him to meet what he thought was a 12-year-old girl. It's extremely odd that he believes he's meeting a 12-year-old girl there for sex, that I assume he believed he was going to engage in, with his infant daughter in the back seat. It's hard to believe," Major Warren added.

Warren said when Lawrence pulled into the parking lot, deputies moved in on him, "When he saw the deputy, he got out, brought his daughter out of the vehicle and started walking toward the playground. I guess to show the deputy, 'Hey, I'm here to take my daughter to the playground'."

Lawrence was taken into custody without incident and the infant was placed with the Department of Social Services until the infant's mother could take her. Warren explained Lawrence and his wife are currently separated, but have shared custody of their baby.

Warren said it was imperative investigators moved quickly when the 12-year-old's parents called for help.

"Did he just come up with this because he got an accidental text? Absolutely not. You know, he had his mind on something like this before. He may have had other victims. He may be soliciting people on the computer before, we just don't know it," Warren said.

Lawrence is currently being held in the Gloucester County Jail without bond.

The Hampton Police Division confirmed Lawrence was employed as a Hampton Police Officer from June, 2006 until December, 2007 when he resigned.