Ex-cop gets probation for photos of teen girls

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A former police office in Charlotte, N.C. was sentenced to 36 months of probation after he admitted taking inappropriate photographs of underage teenage girls, reports CBS affiliate WBTV.

Thomas Allen was arrested in February and charged with four counts of secretly using a photographic imaging device to view another's body or undergarments, and four counts of possessing photographic images in violation of the "peeping statute." He pleaded guilty Wednesday.

The charges were filed after an investigation reportedly found he had inappropriate photos of young girls who participated at various activities during two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) High School Academy events in 2011 and 2013. According to a CMPD document, Allen was the internship coordinator for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Training Academy.

"He committed these offenses in the presence of other people," Police Chief Rodney Monroe told WBTV. "So it was not based on him being alone with anyone. It was just based on his unlawful sneaky ways in trying to capture these photographs."

Monroe reportedly said the girls had no knowledge of Allen's activity until they were approached by authorities.

Chief Rodney Monroe told WBTV that Allen took photos through the victims clothing during physical training that captured portions of their undergarments without their consent.

Monroe told the station that Allen took the photos with a 35 millimeter camera.

"We're talking about physical activities where people were wearing loose-fitting clothes," Monroe said.

Allen's attorney said the former officer has accepted responsibility for his actions and has already been punished by losing his career. He asked the judge to not put Allen on the sex offender registry, reports the station.

The mother of one of the teens photographed by Allen asked for the opposite. She told the court, "I don't want any other children abused this way."

The judge ruled that Allen would not be required to register as a sex offender.

His attorney said Allen has a pornography addiction, much like a drug addiction, and he is seeking help for it.

During an interview with police, Allen said the "pictures fueled his addiction" and "there's a good chance I could relapse," reports WBTV.

Allen reportedly took more than 1,000 photos for a slideshow on the Explorer program and his attorney says four of those pictures were deemed inappropriate.

"I'm very sorry," Allen said in court to the judge and one of the victims. "I want to take full responsibility for this."

He said when he was kicked out of his house, he had to face his pornography addiction and couldn't deny it any longer.

Allen reportedly visits a counselor once a week and spent 90 days in a recovery program after he was arrested.