A former Northern Kentucky police officer admitted in court earlier this month to initiating sexually explicit conversations online with a girl he believed to be 15 years old, court records show.
That girl turned out to be an undercover officer, according to Boone County Circuit Court filings.
In March of last year, 30-year-old Ryan Hill was indicted on one count of prohibited use of electronic communications to procure a minor for sexual activity, court records show.
Hill, a former officer with the Augusta Police Department, pleaded guilty on Feb. 9 to an amended charge of unlawful transaction with a minor, according to court records.
Prosecutors have recommended a sentence of four years probation that would require Hill to complete a sex offender treatment program.
In a criminal complaint, a Boone County Sheriff's Office detective said Hill, via the social media platform Whisper, described in detail the sexual acts he wished to perform on the young girl.
He asked for nude photographs, even though he was told the girl was a sophomore in high school, according to the complaint.
"Hill also made the statement that the female was nearly half his age," the complaint states, adding he even admitted during a conversation that he was a police officer.
The conversations occurred between Dec. 24, 2021, and Dec. 27, 2021.
Hill was actually chatting with an undercover task force officer from Minnesota, the sheriff's office said, adding authorities in Minnesota alerted detectives in Boone County to Hill's online activity. Hill was living in Hebron at the time.
The detectives then conducted their own investigation.
Hill was one of three Augusta police officers assigned to Augusta Independent Schools. He began his assignment at the school in August 2021.
He was fired on the same day as his arrest in January 2022.
Since he'd only been with the department less than a year, Hill was in a probationary period as detailed in his contract, meaning he could be fired "without cause or recourse," Hill's termination letter reads.
Hill's personnel file, obtained through a Kentucky Open Records Act request, shows that he worked as a Kenton County police officer from 2016 to 2020. Before that, Hill worked as a dispatcher for Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport police.
Hill's attorney has yet to respond to an email from The Enquirer seeking comment.
Court records show Hill is scheduled to appear before Judge Richard Brueggemann for sentencing on April 5.
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