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 resigned from the Columbus Division of Police last October and pleaded guilty in Novemberto 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’s 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.
