A Washington County corrections officer is facing a stack of felony counts after Monongahela police say he sent a sexually explicit Snapchat video to a 16-year-old Ringgold High School student. Police identified the officer as 27-year-old Curtis Gardner.
According to WPXI, investigators allege Gardner recorded and sent the video while in his Washington County jail uniform, exposing himself on camera. The teenager reported the video to a jail official during a career day event at Ringgold High School. A Ringgold police officer then filed a ChildLine report, and Monongahela police later obtained a search warrant for Gardner’s phone and interviewed him.
The criminal complaint, as described by WPXI, quotes Gardner as saying he did not recognize the girl’s Snapchat name and that he has "a lot of [expletive] pics" he sends to people after they meet his “criteria.”
How The Report Reached Investigators
Pennsylvania’s mandated reporting rules help explain how a disclosure at a high school event quickly turned into a criminal probe. Under state law, certain professionals must contact ChildLine if they suspect child abuse. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services says ChildLine then routes those reports to county children and youth agencies and to law enforcement, which is how this case landed with Monongahela police.
Charges And What They Mean
Court records list charges including unlawful contact with a minor and dissemination of explicit sexual material, both of which can be felonies. Unlawful contact with a minor is covered under 18 Pa.C.S. § 6318, and 18 Pa.C.S. § 5903 addresses knowingly providing explicit sexual material to a minor. Depending on how the district attorney chooses to proceed and on any prior record, those statutes allow prosecutors to seek prison time and fines.
County Response And Next Steps
Questions about Gardner’s job status are, for now, hitting a wall. A Washington County spokesperson told the station, “As this is an active police investigation, Washington County does not comment on ongoing investigations or personnel matters,” according to WPXI. County officials have not publicly said whether Gardner has been placed on leave, and it was not immediately clear when he will be arraigned.
Broader Landscape
The allegations against Gardner land in a broader wave of cases involving social media and teens. In May, a man in West Earl Township was accused of sending explicit Snapchats to teenagers, resulting in felony charges. Prosecutors and police across Pennsylvania increasingly treat apps like Snapchat as prime venues for alleged crimes involving minors, often seeking phone search warrants early in their investigations.
What To Watch
Monongahela police are leading the case, and the Washington County District Attorney will decide whether to add or adjust charges as the investigation continues. Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact Monongahela police or call ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
