Patrick Rosney, a 26-year veteran of the force, was forced to resign in disgrace after admitting he made plans to meet whom he thought was a 14 - year -old girl to engage in sex at a Queens location. Photo Courtesy of TPD,
A sergeant with the Troy, New York, Police Department who has since retired, has pleaded guilty to sending sexually explicit images to a 14-year-old girl he met online.
Patrick Rosney, 53, of Rensselaer was unaware that the person he was communicating with and believed to be a girl interested I having sex with him, was actually an NYPD undercover detective, Det.. Sean Ryan, assigned to the Vice Enforcement Division and posing as a teen on the internet.
“The defendant asked what I looked like,” Det. Ryan said in a deposition, “and acting in my undercover persona I informed him I was 14 and living in Queens and within 15 minutes of initiating the conversation the defendant wrote: ‘LOL … what have you done with guys? … Sex? … MMMMMM,.”
District Attorney Richard Brown was quick to comment on the lewd actions of the ex-cop. “It is troubling that a person who was once sworn to protect and serve the public has admitted to prowling the Internet for vulnerable young girls. This case underscores the importance of Internet surveillance initiatives by law enforcement to protect children from sexual predators. Parents should make it a point to monitor who their children are communicating with online.”
Rosney, a 26-year veteran of the Troy Police Department who retired in June 2012 following his arrest, pleaded guilty to first degree attempted dissemination of indecent material to a minor.
Det. Ryan was operating in his undercover persona as a teen girl from Queens last May, during which time he was contacted by Rosney, who used the screen name JoeJazzus1@aol.. Rosney’s messages were sexual in nature and he indicated that he wanted to meet for sexual contact. Two days later, during another IM conversation, Rosney suggested that they go to Yahoo Messenger so he could use his webcam. Rosney was using the screen name JoeJazzus13@yahoo.com. The video images included shots of Rosney’s face and his genitals.
At the time of his arrest he was suspended without salary for 30 days. Sources at the Troy station where Rosney served said the department’s Internal Affairs Unit will investigate the allegations against him and follow up with a decision to determine if local criminal charges should be filed. His service weapon and credentials were taken from him. Rosney, who has been free on $30,000 bail since his arrest in June will be sentenced on May 1, 2013, to five years probation, fined $5,000, successfully complete a sex offender program and register as a sex offender with NY State.
