A retired police officer from Warren, Michigan is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student who attends the high school where the officer works as a security guard. CBS News in Detroit reports that 62-year-old Dale Malesh is being held on $500,000 bond for criminal sexual conduct. The news comes at a time when politicians have called for more armed security guards in schools after the Newtown massacre.

Prosecutor Eric Smith said that the sex took place over the course of a few months. Malesh and the girl allegedly had sex at his home and in a park.

Smith said: “Here Warren puts a police officer in there that they think is going to do a nice job and they think is going to help protect a kid, and instead he uses as his own … dating site and finds a 16-year-old girlfriend.” The prosecutor added that the teenager has feelings for Malesh and said that the accusations were overblown.

Michigan law states that the age of consent is 16, though if the person is in a position of authority the consent age is 18.

“The defendant was in a position of authority over her,” said Smith. “He was a school liaison officer, a police officer, and then hired later on as a school security officer.”

Malesh is facing 15 years in prison for his alleged crimes.

School security guards and police officers have been a fact of the American school system for years, and accelerated after the Columbine shootings. While the sexual abuse Malesh is accused of is an extreme example, it does point to what some advocates say is a problem with putting security guards in schools: they abuse their power.

For instance, in May 2013, the Courthouse News Service reported that a student was arrested and then beaten by a school police officer for falling asleep in class. Other examples of abuse perpetrated by officers or security guards in schools are easy to find.