Florida drops sex crimes charges against former DC cop: report

Prosecutors in Florida have dropped charges against Retired District of Columbia Police Lieutenant Brett Parson, who last year was accused of soliciting sex with an underage male.

Parson, who during his career led DC's Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit, "was arrested in Broward County, Florida, in February 2022 and charged with two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor — a 16-year-old boy," WTOP reported on Tuesday.

"According to prosecutors," the outlet continued, "Parson and the boy agreed to meet at a gas station, then drove to a more remote parking lot, where they engaged in sexual activity."

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In a memo submitted to WTOP, Assistant State Attorney Danielle Lennox explained her decision.

Lennox "said the two had met on Growlr, a gay dating application," per WTOP. Lennox also stated that "it should be noted that in order to have an account with Growlr, the user must be 18 years of age or older. The victim's profile listed him as 19 years of age."

The case was dismissed on Monday by Judge Tim Bailey of the Seventeenth Circuit Court of Florida after Lennox and her team told him that the victim refused to cooperate.

"'If there is a way to proceed without his involvement, we would like to,' the boy's father wrote in the email to Lennox," as reported by WTOP. "'I explained that I would do my best to resolve the case but that it would likely be dismissed.'"

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WTOP's full article is available here.