Digital Forensics Dispatch

Text Messages Link Police Officer to Alleged Sexual Assault and Corruption of Minor

February 11, 2021

Keith Schweigert of Fox 43 recently reported on charges made against a now former Waynesboro Pennsylvania Police officer, William Everett Sublett IV. Sublett has been charged with Aggravated Indecent Assault, Unlawful Contact with a Minor and Corruption of a Minor based on an investigation that stemmed from a report made by the 16-year-old alleged victim to her school counselor. The victim reported that she had been in contact with the officer via text and that he had even brought her to his home and fondled her. When the report came to light, Sublett was immediately placed on administrative leave and resigned his position less than a month later.

Sublett first met the minor while on a call at her residence. He continued to have contact with her while making a number of checkups at the house. The two began to communicate via text message and these messages were discovered as a result of forensic examinations of several phones recovered from Sublett throughout the course of the investigation. One of the phones even turned out to belong to the alleged victim.

The victim sent photographs of herself to Sublett via text messages and Sublett allegedly offered to buy her a burner phone and vaping products in return for naked photos of herself. Further timeline review of the messages made it clear that some texts would have even been exchanged while Sublett was actually on duty for the city. Further evidence of Sublett engaging in contact with the victim was caught on a surveillance camera at her home when he stopped by to drop a cell phone off for the girl. Sublett has apparently denied contacting the victim via text messages although the mobile device forensic results seem to contradict that.

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