A city worker in Chattanooga, TN is under investigation for allegedly using his work phone, computer and vehicle to run a one-man male prostitution ring while on the job.
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Sherman Higdon has been an equipment operator in the city’s emergency office since October 2012. This week, he was placed on administrative leave after two of his co-workers noticed sexually explicit texts and photos, as well as inquiries about a M4M Craigslist post advertising sexual favors in exchange for money, on his department-issued cellphone.
The phone was shared between Higdon and the two co-workers who reported him.
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According to a Human Resources report, the co-workers often noticed that Higdon, who worked alone during the night shift, would regularly delete the phone’s call log and texts before handing it over to the next shift in the morning. Apparently, however, he forgot the scrub the phone’s history one time, which is what led to the discovery.
The city’s Internal Audit Office then conducted an investigation and found “multiple male pornographic graphics” stored in a folder under Higdon’s login on a department computer. Investigators also looked at the tracker on his department-issued vehicle and learned that he had spent “several hours” during various night shifts last December parked in a secluded campground parking lot.
When asked about the porn stored on his computer, Higdon said he “didn’t know” how it got there.
As for those late nights parked in a deserted lot when he was supposed to be working? Higdon said he had been “talking with friends” who he claimed were officers of the police department.
The city is doing its best to keep the situation under wraps.
Mayor Andy Berke’s office is not releasing any comment over the matter, and the city’s HR director, Todd Dockery, is not elaborating.
In a statement, he told the Times Free Press that he “cannot comment on specifics of this particular situation” before adding that no disciplinary measures will be taken against Higdon until the internal investigation is completed.
h/t: Times Free Press