He applied to be a deputy, but got arrested instead

Note to potential applicants to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office: Being wanted on felony sex abuse charges will seriously hurt your job prospects.

That’s not just common-sense advice, that’s the situation facing a 25-year-old man. He applied for a police officer position with the department in September, despite a warrant for a “litany” of sex abuse charges, including sodomy, rape and first-degree sexual abuse, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. There were six counts in all.

The man, John Wesley Rose, indicated he was from Detroit and had been in the area three to five months, the sheriff's office said. He was arrested after he was asked to come to the sheriff’s office Tuesday to complete paperwork to “finalize the application process."

The warrant had been issued in Madison County, Ky., in March, but the charges were not entered into a national database. Instead, “persistent investigative police work” prompted an officer to dig for any violations or red flags that would preclude his employment, the release said.

“This officer’s tenacity prevented a criminal from joining our ranks. Let this be a warning to anyone attempting to get a job with the sheriff’s office — you will be screened thoroughly and completely in the interest of public safety — for our personnel and the citizens who interact with our jails,” Sheriff Benny Napoleon said in the release.

Additional information about the charges was not immediately available. A message seeking comment was left for an official at the Madison County Sheriff's Office.

During a court hearing in Detroit this morning, Rose waived extradition. Officials there have until Nov. 30 to retrieve Rose, and if he is not picked up by then, he will have another court hearing, the sheriff's office said.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.