AG: No evidence of crime in Ross sergeant's alleged sharing of video evidence

No criminal charges will be filed against a Ross police officer accused by fellow officers of mishandling explicit video evidence in a case, the state Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday.

The controversy — which led to a union vote of no confidence in Chief Joseph Ley — stemmed from allegations that a sergeant shared a video to a case about a teen boy sending explicit videos of himself.

The alleged incident happened Jan. 26 during the department’s 7 a.m. roll call. The sergeant allegedly had the video on his personal cell phone and showed it to other officers while joking and laughing. Executives with the Ross Township Police Association said in a letter at the time that depending upon the exact nature of the video, the sharing of it could constitute child sexual abuse.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office confirmed that investigators concluded their investigation and “did not find evidence to support criminal charges.”

Union officials later accused Ley of minimizing the gravity of the allegations when they were brought to him.

Members of the police association’s executive board could not immediately be reached for comment.

Dan DeMarco, president of the township’s board of commissioners, defended Ley in the aftermath of the incident and no-confidence vote. He said Wednesday that “it is important to allow a proper investigation to unfold before passing judgment.”

“This should serve as another reminder to the public that social media speculation and rushing to judgment is improper and does not serve the public good,” he said in an email. “Many individuals who had limited information, or those deliberately spreading misinformation, condemned these actions without having all of the facts.”

Related:

• Ross commissioners president defends police chief