Spalding deputy bonds out after sending obscene photos to teen, arrested again hours later

SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — A Spalding County sheriff’s deputy found himself behind bars twice in a matter of hours earlier this week.

Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said Deputy Mason Lumpkin was arrested on February 1 and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and electronically distributing obscene materials to a minor.

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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation found that Lumpkin had sent pictures and Snapchat messages to a 16-year-old girl. Those photos were later seen by a 9-year-old girl.

Sheriff Dix says the 16-year-old showed the photos to her parents and they contacted the sheriff’s office.

Lumpkin was placed on administrative leave while the GBI investigated. He was fired on February 1 when Spalding County District Attorney made the decision to criminally charge Lumpkin.

He was booked into the Spalding County Jail and bonded out shortly after.

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Hours later, Lumpkin was arrested again on a DUI charge. He is currently being held in the Spalding County Jail.

“Every employee that works at the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office knows that both their on-duty behavior and their off-duty behavior affects the way that the public views us not just us locally, but our entire profession nationwide,” Sheriff Dix said. “The consequences are made crystal clear to them, and I don’t accept excuses for an officer that enforces the law breaking the law.”

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Sheriff Dix is also urging parents to remain vigilant in monitoring their child’s social media activity.

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