MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A former school resource officer and Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department deputy may have to register as a sex offender for life as part of a plea agreement.
The Herald Mail reports Thomas Carroll, 44 of Martinsburg, worked at Musselman High School when allegations rose in December 2016 that he shared sexually explicit images with a teenage boy. The alleged images were sent via Grindr, a smart phone application. Carroll has admitted to using the Grindr app that night and communicating on it, but said he has never sent explicit photos to students.
A plea agreement filed on October 22 reads that Carroll has agreed to a guilty plea of one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. This would allow him to register as a sex offender for life in place of incarceration. He has served two years on home confinement.
Felony counts of distributing obscene matter to a minor and use obscene matter with intent to seduce a minor would be dropped as part of the plea.
A plea hearing has been scheduled for November 13 in front of Judge Michael Lorensen.