© Hamilton County JailJohn Bruce Spaulding
Deputy John Bruce Spaulding, 49, was indicted by a Hamilton County Grand Jury on six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor following an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigators.
The TBI received a tip in June of this year from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that someone was in possession of disturbing images of children being sexually exploited. Their investigation found that person to be Spaulding.
According to the indictment, Spaulding possessed material that included a minor engaged in sexual activity or simulated sexual activity. The victims were under the age of 13.
The fact that this is the second time Spaulding has been charged with the same crime speaks to the dangerous nature of blue privilege.
In 2010, when Spaulding lived in White County, he faced similar charges and was placed on paid vacation while the department conducted an 'investigation.'
White County Sheriff Oddie Shoupe said at the time of the original charges, "It doesn't matter who you are, no one is above the law in White County. If you break the law, we're gonna catch you and put you in jail."
However, the investigation was eventually dismissed, and Spaulding was placed back on duty. "With the charges dismissed for lack of proof, we were obligated to take him back," Sheriff Jim Hammond said.
Since those charges were dismissed, Spaulding had been on patrol — until he was caught again.
According to a report in the Chattanoogan,
However, they did very little to 'protect the children' as this monster was let loose on the town once more.The earlier case resulted from a joint investigation with the Department of Children's Services and the district attorney general's office. Authorities were contacted by DCS to assist with the investigation of allegations against Spaulding.
A White County detective said at the time, "We want to protect the children of White County, and we will investigate all allegations of any wrong-doing, especially when it comes to children."
This serial child predator's bond was set at a measly $10,000. He quickly posted bail and was released. He has now been suspended again, pending the outcome of yet another investigation.
As the Free Thought Project reported last November, an investigation by the AP revealed around 1,000 policemen across the US had their licenses revoked and lost their jobs over the last six years on account of numerous sexual offenses that included rape and possession of child pornography.
The probe revealed that 550 officers were decertified for various sexual assaults, including rape. Some were dismissed for sodomy or sexual shakedowns, where victims were forced to perform sexual acts to avoid arrest.
A further 440 officers lost their jobs for other sex-related offenses, such as possessing child pornography, being a peeping Tom, sending sexually charged messages to underage teens or having sex while on duty.
About one-third of the officers lost their jobs for committing sexual offenses with juveniles.
The real number of sexual offenses could, however, be much higher, as AP only looked into registered cases where an officer lost their badge because of an offense. Lawyers and police chiefs acknowledged that some departments let the sexual assaults slide to limit their liability, allowing their staff to quietly resign or transfer to other duty stations or departments.
Furthermore, the probe notes that not all decertified officers faced criminal charges as some policemen surrendered their badges voluntarily to avoid a potential scandal.
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