Officer denied bail in teen sex case

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COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 31 (UPI) -- Bail was denied an Ohio police officer charged with attempting to engage in sex with a 15-year-old girl attending the high school he protects, officials said.

Todd Smith, 49, a resource officer at Centennial High School, and a Columbus police officer since 1986, was arrested last week by FBI agents investigating allegations made by a student, and "relieved of his police duties," a police spokesman said. Charged with coercion and enticement of a minor, he appeared in U.S. District Court in Columbus Monday when bail was denied by Judge Magistrate Norah McCann King, the Columbus, Ohio, Dispatch reported Tuesday.

The unnamed student told the FBI she and Smith had exchanged sexually explicit text messages. She also sent Smith a topless photograph of herself, FBI agent Tisha Hartsough said at Smith's bond hearing.

A second 15-year-old student at the school informed the FBI she and Smith had a similar relationship, the newspaper said, telling agents she performed oral sex on Smith in his office during an evening event at the school.