BRUNSWICK, Maine — A Brunswick police officer arrested after federal agents said he tried to send naked photos of himself to a 14-year-old girl resigned on Saturday.
Garrett Brosnan’s resignation was announced by Brunswick Police Chief Richard Rizzo on Saturday afternoon. Brosnan was on administrative leave after his arrest. Rizzo had no further comment.
According to court paperwork, Brosnan sent naked pictures of himself on two occasions earlier this month to someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl. That person was in fact a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Federal agents arrested Brosnan on Tuesday at the Brunswick police station on the criminal complaint of attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor.
The 25-year-old from Bath has been with the Brunswick Police Department since 2013.
According to court paperwork, the Department of Homeland Security began investigating Brosnan after tracking him to a complaint from a parent in Arizona, who found his daughter having inappropriate conversations with someone online.
Court records show Brosnan then having conversations with a special agent posing as a 14-year-old girl, several of which became sexual and included pictures of him naked and asking for pictures in return.
On one occasion Brosnan asked for a picture of her without a bra on and stated that he would “like to make her pregnant.”
He also posted a series of videos of himself.
In one he appeared to say, “Come on baby, you have seen me, let’s go, let me see.”
Rizzo said Wednesday he was disappointed and shocked at the allegations and had no idea one of his officers was being investigated until he was arrested Tuesday.
“We go to their homes, we go out of state when they’re from out of state, we visit their neighbors, we do a high-intensity polygraph, nothing came up in his background. We’ll look at that and will see if [there are better] ways to do background investigation, but I think we have an outstanding background investigation,” Rizzo said.
Brosnan made his first court appearance in the U.S. District Court in Portland on Wednesday.
He was released from jail Wednesday on $10,000 unsecured bail.
If convicted, Brosnan faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.