Former Columbus Police Sgt. Dean Worthington was sentenced to 90 days in the Franklin County jail, placed on probation for five years and fined $5,000 for having child pornography on his personal cell phone.
Worthington from the Columbus Division of Police last October and to one count of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material and three counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor.
For the next 25 years, Worthington must register as a sex offender every six months. Judge Mark Serrott told Worthington he would send Worthington to prison for nine years if he violates his probation terms.
Investigators got a tip last May about a child-pornography image that was uploaded to the social media website Tumblr through Worthington鈥檚 page. In July, they found other child-pornographic images and videos on his cellphone.
Worthington was a 22-year veteran of the department. He last served as the public information officer.
