Former police officer sentenced to year’s probation
WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) – A fired southwestern Pennsylvania police officer from Greene County must spend a year on probation after he was convicted of obstructing the administration of law for his dealings with 17-year-old runaway boy from Virginia. Robert Helphenstine, 40, of Wind Ridge was in charge of the Fallowfield Township Police department in Washington County when authorities say he picked the boy up in March 2009.
Police say Helphenstine met the boy from Chesapeake, Va. near a Pittsburgh bus station. Helphenstine allegedly told the boy he was a police officer and took him home, where they twice had sex.
Helphenstine was fired a few months later and pleaded no contest on Tuesday.
Prosecutors say Helphenstine found out the teen was a runaway but never reported his status to local police.
Prior to working as a police officer in Fallowfield Township, Helphenstine worked as a 911 dispatcher in Greene and Washington counties.