Kimball Perry

kperry@enquirer.com

Darrell Beavers went to church with David Schofield, served on the Cincinnati Police Department and worked off-duty security jobs with him. Officer Beavers also patrolled the neighborhood where Schofield lives.

The two men, though, were on opposite sides of the issue Thursday when Schofield detailed how Beavers betrayed everyone who supported and believed in him.

Beavers, a Cincinnati police officer since 2002, set up a scheme, using his job as a police officer as bait, to send and receive 650 sexually explicit photos and texts with a minor and destroying an incriminating cell phone once he knew he was being investigated.

"Additionally, other material, pornographic in nature, was shared between the two," Sgt. Schofield said Thursday. The girl's stepfather found inappropriate text messages from Beavers on her phone and contacted police.

Beavers was accused of telling the owner of a building in East Price Hill's 2600 block of Bushnell Street he needed an apartment for a police substation to fight crime in the area. Instead, police found evidence the fake substation was used for sexcapades.

"This was a rogue police officer who tarnished the badge that he wore," Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Bill Anderson said.

Once Beavers, 45, had the apartment, it was adorned with an official Cincinnati Police logo as well as beds, bedding, personal lubricants, pornographic videos and a police-owned night-vision camera to record events that were happening in the dark.

"We also found several indications that the two beds in the (fake substation) were used frequently for sexual activity," Schofield said.

Beavers' attorney, Carl Lewis, believed the incident was a one-time "lapse of judgment" of an otherwise upstanding, respected police officer, husband, father of three and football and basketball coach.

"He said if this same activity had occurred with his daughter with another police officer, he would be angry, he would be upset," Lewis said of Beavers.

Beavers pleaded guilty in June to illegal use of a minor in nudity oriented material and attempted tampering with evidence. A theft in office charge that would have resulted in Beavers losing any police pension was dropped as part of the plea deal.

When prosecutors accepted the June plea deal, the law at the time meant Beavers faced a maximum of 30 months in prison. After the guilty plea, though, the law changed, resulting in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Ralph Winkler being allowed to send Beavers to prison for no more than one year.

"I accept responsibility for my actions," Beavers told the judge. "My family has been the real victim in this along with the community and the police department. ...I am completely upset and ashamed at my actions."

Beavers also fears the humiliation of being labeled a sexual predator, having to report his address for the next 15 years to the sheriff in the county where he will live.

"As he describes it, 'Now, I'm the boogeyman. I'm the man that they'll talk about,' " Lewis said, quoting Beavers.

Schofield noted police also found a previous fake substation in West Price Hill and wanted to ask Beavers about it but he refused.

"It was their belief," Lewis said of police investigators, "that there are other Cincinnati police officers (who) have used, were using the so-called substations for other activity other than police work."

Cincinnati said they aren't investigating possible involvement by other officers.

In addition to the one year in prison, Beavers also was sentenced to pay the owners of the buildings of the fake substations $9,615 in owed rent and utilities. Winkler also ordered Beavers to get counseling after prison.

"This actually turns out to be a sick situation that he was in," the judge said. "He ... had a secret life that nobody knew about."

Beavers is divorced and working on an oil pipeline that pays him about $70,000 annually, similar to his base police salary.

Beavers graduated from Michigan State University and was drafted by the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles.