Hamilton County Police Officer Arrested On Child Porn Charges

Image Credit: Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office & Canva

The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has arrested one of its own deputies on child porn charges.

25-year-old Johnathan Allen was placed on administrative leave after being arrested Thursday morning.

South Carolina law enforcement officials contacted investigators in Hamilton County on Wednesday regarding a criminal investigation. He was booked into the York County, South Carolina jail Thursday night.

Allen is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and an additional charge of criminal solicitation of a minor.

According to Sheriff Austin Garrett, Allen will be placed on leave with pay for 14 days as the department prepares for a predisciplinary hearing. He will then be suspended without pay and could be sent on for a disciplinary hearing.

Garrett says the department is now working on its own internal investigation into the charges.

“I am furious over the alleged actions of Allen and the disgusting nature of these charges,” Garrett stated.

Allen has been with the department in the role of a jail deputy since September 2021. He just completed the law enforcement academy in November and was currently enrolled in the sheriff’s field training program when he was arrested.

The HCSO has seen three of their deputies arrested within the last three months.

In September, jail deputy Olivia Roble was arrested for a DUI and violation of the open container law. She is also facing charges of child neglect after officers found her 15-month-old child alone in her apartment.

Jail deputy Eric James Nerison was arrested in November for sending threatening messages to a Cleveland State Community College student he was dating, claiming that he was going to commit acts of violence on the college campus. He also allegedly hit the victim earlier that day. He was charged with domestic assault and imprisonment.

This week, a trial date was set for another former officer, Lawrence Goodine, who is accused of the 2023 murder of his girlfriend Kara Akins. Goodine will face charges of first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping when he goes to court next September.