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Toledo firefighter accused of sending inappropriate texts to teen resigns; asked teen to delete messages

The individual resigned on July 14, one hour before a scheduled disciplinary hearing. WTOL 11 has obtained three days' worth of the messages between the two.

TOLEDO, Ohio — A Toledo firefighter accused of sending inappropriate text messages to a teenager resigned on July 14 prior to a scheduled disciplinary hearing.

According to a statement from the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department, the firefighter resigned from the department one hour before the hearing. As of July 14, the firefighter has not been charged with a crime.

WTOL 11 has learned the name of the accused firefighter, but it is station policy to withhold the identities of those who haven't been charged with a crime in these situations. The department has also not identified the person.

WTOL 11 received direct messages, Toledo Fire and Rescue Department documents and emails related to the investigation.

Messages show the 35-year-old man, then a Toledo firefighter, sent a direct message to the teenager. He asked about seeing parts of her he shouldn't have seen, but it's unclear exactly to what he is referring.

He then goes on, asking her how "bad" and "naughty" she is. She responded and he replied, "Oh ok you just made it seem like you were kinda bad if you know what i (sic) mean."

He asked her whether she is a virgin and about the naughtiest thing she's ever done, eventually requesting she add him on Snapchat. He acknowledged he knew her age -- 17 years old -- when she said she doesn't use social media like that.

He said he wanted to ask her a question, writing, "It's a personal question and idk (I don't know) if it'll make things between us weird."

He asked if she had any mobile payment service apps, like Venmo, before writing, "If I send you money would you show me more?"

She said it was weird for him to be messaging her when he has a wife and kids. She said it was creepy for a 35-year-old to ask a 17-year-old these things.

She told him to stop when he tried to find out her bra size, and he wanted her to delete the entire conversation, which ends on June 17.

Documents show the girl's parents found out and reported what happened to the Toledo Police Department on June 23. He admitted to the conversation, writing "i was drunk and intoxicated the iniail (sic) night i asked and was not in the clear mindset at the time of questioning. as for the other two days i have no clear anwser (sic) as to why i continued to ask the questions."

A Toledo Fire and Rescue investigation found him in violation of three department rules.

"On June 15, 2022 you initiated a sexually explicit conversation by messaging with a known female minor. This text exchange continued over a period of days, with some of this sexually explicit communication with the minor occurring while on duty as a Toledo Firefighter," chief Allison Armstrong wrote.

The department placed him on paid administrative leave on July 2, pending a disciplinary hearing. He resigned one hour prior to that hearing on July 11.

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