Margate Officer Accused Of Soliciting "Teen Girl" For Explicit Pics Online
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - A Margate police officer was taken into custody after he reportedly asked a person online, who he thought was a 14-year-old girl, to send him sexually explicit pictures.
Turns out the person he was chatting with was an undercover FBI agent.
According to the criminal complaint, Officer Andrew Hammock, 46, used a social media app to make contact with the undercover officer on February 14th.
Hammock, posting as "playful_guy," reportedly asked the "teen girl" to send him non-pornographic pictures. When the officer replied they were only 14-years-old, he reportedly texted back that he was older than that and lived in Fort Lauderdale. He also asked is she liked older guys.
Over the next month, the two chatted back and forth and Hammock's requests became more explicit. He reportedly asked the officer to send pictures of "her" changing clothes and include some with "her" just in her underwear or "flashing as much as you are willing to show." The following chats became more explicit and personal, according to the criminal complaint.
On March 17th, Hammock was arrested by the FBI at Margate Police Headquarters.
He's been charged with "soliciting visual depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct."
Hammock was hired by the Margate police in September of 2002. He's has been placed on administrative leave without pay until the conclusion of the criminal case.
