As an Altoona police officer, Rick Johnson instructed children and others how to be safe online.
On Tuesday, Johnson, 49, of 921 25th Ave. was accused of having an Internet relationship with a 16-year-old out-of-state girl - a relationship that led to three sexual encounters last month, arrest papers state.
Johnson, a 22-year veteran of the Altoona force, is free on $20,000 unsecured bail.
He is charged with one count each of endangering the welfare of a child and corruption of minors. His attorney, R. Thomas Forr, declined to comment when contacted Tuesday afternoon.
Johnson also has been placed on on unpaid administrative leave, Altoona Police Chief Janice Freehling said late Tuesday. He has been on paid leave since Thursday, the day state police raided his home with a sealed search warrant.
The girl, who is from Indiana, met Johnson online in December at Policelink.com, a law enforcement-related Web site, state police at Hollidaysburg said.
They began e-mailing and talking on the phone by Dec. 28.
Johnson eventually became a mentor to the girl, who first visited Altoona with her family in March. She met Johnson and his family, police said.
The teenager made three other visits to Altoona, the last on July 28.
Prior to that visit, the girl described how her feelings toward Johnson changed from a father-daughter relationship to a physical attraction/sexual relationship, arrest papers state.
She said Johnson expressed similar feelings.
The series of exchanges included cell phone calls and text messages.
The girl used her teenage friends' cell phones during the text exchanges, and they alerted adults about those messages.
The girl and her friends are members of a Law Enforcement Explorers post in Hammond, Ind. The friends notified their advisers about the text messages.
The advisers went to Hammond Police Chief Brian Miller, who called Altoona police. Freehling asked state police July 30 to investigate the possible sexual exploitation incident, arrest papers state.
The investigation led to Johnson's arrest Tuesday.
''They did what they were supposed to do. They told the truth,'' Miller said of the girl's friends.
Under questioning, Johnson admitted to having sex with the girl three times - once in an Ohio hotel and twice at his home, police said.
Troopers seized two computers, a bedspread, sheets and other evidence from Johnson's home.
Johnson served as a military policeman in the Army and an officer in Harrisonburg, Va., before joining the Altoona force in 1986, according to his personal Web site.
Mirror Staff Writer Mark Leberfinger is at 946-7462.
