CRESTVIEW, Fla. (WKRG) — An Okaloosa Correctional Institution corrections officer was charged with obscene communication after communicating with what he believed to be a fourteen year old juvenile male through an online dating application and text messages in Okaloosa County, according to a report.
Between Aug. 4 and Aug. 9, 2021, Jerry Lee Hollingsworth, 44, of DeFuniak Springs solicited the juvenile for sexual acts, according to the report. On Aug. 6, 2021, Hollingsworth contacted an undercover officer on the online dating app, Grindr, having a username and profile from Milton, Fla. On Aug. 8, 2021, the undercover officer provided Hollingsworth with a phone number, which Hollingsworth sent a message to.
During the conversation, the undercover officer identified himself as a 14-year-old juvenile male, and Hollingsworth identified as being 36 years old. Hollingsworth then sent an image of a male from the neck down to the waist, according to the report.
Some of the chats between the undercover officer and Hollingsworth are below:
Hollingsworth: “Did you end up jo”
Hollingsworth: “Jack off”
Undercover officer: “Ohh. No”
Hollingsworth: “Shame I wanted to see”
Undercover officer: “ohh what u wanna see exactly tho”
Hollingsworth: “U”
Undercover officer: “U mean Irl (in real life) or just pics”
Hollingsworth: “Both”
Hollingsworth then asked the undercover officer, who was posing as a 14-year-old male, if he was hard and requested a picture so he knew what he was coming for, according to the report.
On Aug. 26, 2021, a search warrant was lawfully obtained in reference to Hollingsworth’s phone. Based on investigation, the report says Hollingsworth did violate Use of a Computer to Seduce, Solicit, or Lure a Child and Use of a Two-Way Communication Device to Facilitate a Felony.
Hollingsworth was booked into the Okaloosa County Jail Tuesday afternoon and is held without bond.
There is not a mugshot available for Hollingsworth.