The state Attorney General's Office will prosecute an Altoona police officer for having sex with a teenage girl, a spokesman said Wednesday.
Herrick "Rick" Joseph Johnson, 49, of 921 25th Ave. was arrested Tuesday on two state charges of endangering the welfare of a child, a third-degree felony, and corruption of minors, a first-degree misdemeanor.
If convicted, the maximum penalty is 12 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
"To avoid a conflict of interest, the Blair County district attorney referred it to us," AG spokesman Kevin Harley said.
Deputy Assistant District Attorney Jackie Bernard called in the referral Wednesday.
"There is a formalized process with the district attorney sending us a letter and we respond to it, but we are accepting it, based on the facts we were given," Harley said.
A state prosecutor has yet to be assigned to the case, he said.
Johnson, a 22-year veteran of the Altoona force, is on unpaid administrative leave as a result of the arrest, Altoona police said.
He is free on $20,000 unsecured bail.
During their investigation, state police notified federal authorities about a reported sexual encounter between Johnson and a 16-year-old Indiana girl while staying in Ohio, a state police spokesman said.
The first sexual encounter occurred July 28 in a hotel near Elyria, Ohio, arrest papers state.
Troop G spokesman Trooper David McGarvey said the FBI was notified about the case because Johnson crossed state lines to bring the girl to Altoona but decided not to get involved because of the girl's age and the consensual nature of the sex.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 20. Magisterial District Judge Joseph L. Moran said he may have to recuse himself from the case, depending upon whether or not the hearing is waived.
