NYPD cop sexted with ‘minor’ while overseeing youth outreach program: prosecutors
An NYPD officer tasked with community youth outreach is facing charges in two boroughs for allegedly sexting an undercover cop posing as a 14-year-old girl, according to prosecutors.
Travis N. DeSouza, 35, appeared in a Queens County court on Thursday, six months after appearing in a Brooklyn court, on child endangerment-related charges for sending sexually explicit messages to an undercover officer he believed to be just 14 years old, authorities said.
Last October, cops set out to ensnare DeSouza in a sting operation after suspecting him of unethical behavior in his capacity as a supervisor of the Police Explorers program, a NYPD youth outreach initiative for teens and young adults between 14 and 20 years old who want to pursue a career in law enforcement, according to a complaint.
An adult undercover officer approached DeSouza while posing as a youth participant in the Police Explorers program, telling the alleged perv that she was 14 years old and asking him for his phone number, the complaint stated.
“Of course, stop trying to bag me already,” the creepy cop replied to her request, according to the document.
He continued the lurid overtures and innuendos via texts and social media — while explicitly acknowledging that she was a minor, officials claim.
“And I don’t know even why you got me thinking things I shouldn’t because of how far we are of age LOL I should be telling you to stop… but your maturity and the way you act is different,” DeSouza allegedly messaged the undercover agent on Snapchat.
Eventually, DeSouza tried to seal the deal with the faux “teen girl” by sending her a picture of himself with an erection while wearing boxer shorts, the complaint alleged.
“What’s under those shorts?” the undercover agent wrote over Snapchat, according to the complaint.
“Something big, maybe more than you can handle,” DeSouza allegedly wrote back.
The accused perv was working within the confines of the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn while allegedly sending some of the shocking sexts and sent others from a NYPD building in Queens — which is why he’s facing charges in both boroughs.
Officer DeSouza has been suspended without pay from the NYPD, the department said Thursday.
He was charged in Queens court with attempted dissemination of indecent material to minors in the first degree, official misconduct, obscenity in the third degree, and attempted endangering the welfare of a child, according to the criminal complaint.
In Brooklyn, he was hit with charges of attempted disseminating indecent materials to minors in the first degree, attempted endangering the welfare of a child, and obscenity in the third degree, records show.
On Thursday, the ex-cop was released without bail, according to court records.
