A former police officer was arrested Saturday on charges of approaching a 14-year-old boy on an Augusta street and offering money for a sex act, authorities said.
Benjamin Hopson, 34, of Parrish Road, was charged with enticing a child for indecent purposes, and he is being held without bond at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center.
Hopson is a former officer with the Atlanta Police Department, where he served for several years before returning to his hometown of Augusta. The reason is not clear.
The 14-year-old victim told authorities that he was walking on Stevens Creek Road in June when a blue Dodge Challenger pulled up near him. The suspect asked the boy to come to his car and inquired if he needed money. The victim said yes, and the suspect then offered him $200 to perform oral sex.
The teen ran off from the vehicle and told his mother the next day after staying at a friend’s house, authorities said. When the victim returned to Westside High School in August, he was shocked to see the suspect who approached him was working there as a hall monitor. He informed his mother, leading to an investigation.
On Saturday morning, the sheriff’s office issued a wanted poster for Hopson, and he was arrested by the afternoon.
Authorities say Hopson was reportedly on leave from the Atlanta Police Department and was working for the school district through Global Staffing, a temporary staffing agency.
Hopson’s career at the Atlanta Police Department was celebrated by the agency with several YouTube videos, labeling him as “a professional, energetic, and compassionate officer.”
A caption on one video states that Hopson “left a career in the medical field to pursue his passion for policing in the City of Atlanta.”
In a video from three years ago, Hopson mentions that he grew up in a single-parent household in Augusta and entered the medical field. He wanted to advance his career and chose the law enforcement field, specifically Atlanta, because of the agency’s diversity and its programs for LGBTQ individuals.
“Policing is what I am called to do,” he said.
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