JOPLIN, Mo. -- Charges have been dropped against a former Joplin police officer who was caught with nude photos and videos of a 17-year-old girl.

That's because 24-year-old Jonathan White married the 17-year-old girlfriend in late June.

White was fired from the police force April 5 after an internal affairs probe of his relationship with the girl turned up the photos and videos.

Investigators said that while the sexual relationship between White and the girl was legal, his possession of nude images of her was not.

The Joplin Globe reports that White said the two had been discussing marriage before he came under investigation. Prosecutor Dean Dankelson says he had to drop the charges last week because the girl could not be forced to testify against her husband.