Verona fires police officer accused of corruption of a minor

A Verona police officer accused of having child porn and corrupting a teenage boy has been fired.

Council unanimously voted to terminate terminated the employment of part-time patrolman Anthony Ogline Tuesday night.

He was suspended without pay Jan. 17 after borough officials were informed of an investigation involving Ogline, 34, of Verona and a 16-year-old boy.

Borough Manager Jerry Kenna released a statement on behalf of the borough.

“I would like to stress to everyone that this was the action of one man, not an entire police department or community,” Kenna said. “Verona Borough is an amazing town, growing at an extremely impressive rate from new businesses and new families choosing to call it home.

“It’s extremely important that we don’t allow the actions of one man define our community or our police department. ”

Ogline’s current stint with the police department began in January 2015. He also worked for the borough a few years before that. His current pay is $16 per hour.

Allegheny County police charged him with possession of child porn, unlawful contact with minor, criminal use of a communication facility, corruption of minors, tampering with physical evidence and selling or furnishing liquor to a person less than 21 years of age.

Ogline is accused of sending sexually explicit messages to the boy and asking him to send nude photos, according to the complaint. He also is accused of getting the boy drunk and high and performing a sex act on the boy while he was unconscious, according to the complaint.

Police in Whitehall initially investigated on Jan. 16 after the high school there reported the boy leaving the school with a man driving a black Chrysler.

The boy told police he met Ogline through the online dating app Grindr about three months ago and told him he was 17, according to a criminal complaint.

Ogline’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 12 before Swissvale Magisterial District Judge Thomas P. Caulfield.