LONGVIEW, Texas — A Longview police officer is behind bars for federal accusations of attempting to solicit sex from a minor online.
Seth Estes Vanover, 50, of Diana, was booked into the Smith County Jail on a federal detainer Wednesday and later released to another agency the next day, according to online records.
Longview police said on Tuesday, the FBI contacted the police department regarding an investigation involving one of the department’s officers.
LPD said in a Facebook post the FBI arrested the employee, who was just identified as a "peace officer," at the police department with assistance from this agency. The officer resigned from LPD.
According to reporting from the Longview News-Journal, conservations on social media between a man, who was later identified as Vanover, and two undercover FBI agents are detailed in a 52-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas.
According to the document obtained by our news partners, the man was looking for sex with girls, and the conversations show the social media user accessed the app on devices registered to the city of Longview.
On Dec. 8, 2020, a man with username “jjdad36, who later identified as Vanover, asked an undercover agent about having sex with her 9-year-old daughter. The texts from the conversation detailed "jjdad36" 's efforts to have sex with the young girl, the document read.
Through a subpoena of the social media app, the FBI investigator learned the "jjdad36" username was associated with “Set E. Vanover” and a New Diana address. They also found a phone number with the account, which connected to the city of Longview and listed Seth Vanover as the contact, the document stated.
Another conversation from July this year show a messages from a different FBI agent and an account called "jattleson. The account "jattleson" was interested in meeting the agent's girlfriend's 11-year-old daughter.
According to the document, "jattleson" replied in a private message once the undercover agent shared a message saying “Anybody in FL with any yung?”
At one point in the messages, the agent asks how old "jattleson" is. The user says 44 and then sends a photo a nude man standing in front of a bathroom mirror, the document detailed.
The man behind the "jattleson" account said he's always wanted to have sex with a girl. Through an subpoena, the FBI learned the contact associated with that account was Seth Vanover and the city of Longview was the subscriber, according to the complaint.
After reviewing the city of Longview website in August this year, the investigator saw Vanover was listed as a lieutenant who supervised the 1st Watch Patrol shift for the Longview Police Department, the document read.
The News-Journal said online court records show Vanover had a video hearing set for Thursday morning.
In its Facebook post, the Longview Police Department said it expects the highest standards for all employees and will not tolerate criminal behavior.
"The department will investigate any allegations of employee misconduct to the fullest extent and uphold the Department’s standard of 'Providing Professional Policing' to the Longview community," the statement read.
Other requests for information related to the criminal case filed should be made to the FBI Dallas field office.