Medina police officer fired for sex with 16-year-old girl

A Medina police officer has been fired, and the King County Prosecutor's Office is reviewing the possible filing of criminal charges after the officer admitted having sex with a 16-year-old girl.

The 27-year-old officer was fired Sept. 20, Medina Police Chief Jeffrey Chen said today.

Chen said he wouldn't identify the officer, but added that the case has been referred to the prosecutor's office for review.

Chen said the officer was hired by the Medina department in February and went through 4 ½ months of law-enforcement training-academy coursework before joining the department in June. He had been on a one-year probation.

The investigation began in September, Chen said, when the department learned about possible contacts between the officer and the girl. The case then was turned over to the Seattle Police Department for further investigation to avoid potential conflicts of interest, Chen added.

That investigation discovered the officer met the girl through an Internet advertisement and that they later had sex.

The age of consent for sexual intercourse in Washington state is 16. Chen said it's not clear whether any crimes took place and that all the activities occurred during the officer's personal time.

Regardless of whether any crimes were committed, the officer was a probationary employee of the department, said Chen, and the relationship was not acceptable.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com