A school policeman accused of coercing a runaway girl to take nude photos of herself was arrested on Monday, becoming the city's second officer to face sex charges in four months.
Michael Mangino, 50, is facing two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor along with charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and official misconduct, Aurora Police Sgt. Cassidee Carlson told Reuters.
Mangino served as a DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer in several schools in Aurora, Denver's largest suburb.
Another Aurora DARE officer, Morgan Sellman, was arrested on child pornography charges last December. He resigned from the force and his case is pending.
'Inappropriate conduct'
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Mangino's alleged victim was a 15-year-old runaway from California, who told police Mangino coerced her into taking sexually explicit photos of herself.
"Officer Mangino told her that he has all of the girls he arrests take photos of themselves for him," the affidavit relating to the girl's complaint said.
After receiving the report of "inappropriate conduct" by Mangino, police seized his cell phone where they discovered the photos of the girl, Carlson said.
Carlson said detectives also discovered a photo of a young girl's body part that was taken in a DARE class, and videos of Mangino having sex with an adult woman in his patrol car.
Those incidents are also under investigation, she said.
Mangino turned himself in on Monday, posted a $20,000 bond, and was released. He has been suspended without pay.
