HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A communications supervisor with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office was arrested on Thursday and accused of soliciting who he thought was a minor for sex.
Jonathan Hagen, 34, was arrested by Clearwater Police after he used an app called "Whisper" to exchange messages and pictures with a person from Clearwater he thought was 14 years old, according to the sheriff's office.
Hagen works as a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Communications Center Senior Supervisor.
Hagen was actually talking to an undercover detective with Clearwater Police. According to the release, Hagen told the undercover detective he was between 30 and 35 years old.
Hagen is charged with four counts of Use of a Computer to Seduce Solicit Lure Child and three counts of Transmit Material Harmful to Minor.
"I'm absolutely appalled by this man's inexcusable behavior," Sheriff Chad Chronister in a press release. "This act goes against everything we stand for at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. This individual's disturbing actions do not represent the dedicated, hard-working, and upstanding employees here at HCSO. We remain committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of our community."
Hagen started working at HCSO in 2014. He's on administrative leave without pay. The sheriff's office said there have been no internal investigations against Hagen during his time at the sheriff's office.
Whisper is described as "the largest online platform where people share real thoughts and feelings, forge relationships and engage in conversations on an endless variety of topics - without identities or profiles."
