A former Columbus police officer was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to three years in prison for deactivating or removing his body-worn camera while on duty.
Nicholas P. Duty, 36, of Commercial Point, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of destroying or altering records related to a criminal investigation.
An investigation found that on Oct. 31, 2023 and March 22, 2004, Duty deactivated or removed his body cam during interactions with two women, including during a sexual encounter.
Duty was working with other officers investigating prostitution crimes along Sullivant Avenue on the city's west side.
During one incident, Duty was on duty, wearing a police uniform and in a marked police car.
Investigators reviewed Duty's digital devices, which revealed many conversations where Duty was asking women for sex, including crime victims. He would send messages to sex workers, meet up with them in his cruiser and then pay them.
In a statement, Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9 President Brian Steel said Duty's actions violated the law and the public trust.