Ex-Phillipsburg cop was suspended for porn at juvenile courts job

Incident unmentioned in Phillipsburg job application.

The former Phillipsburg police officer released after an arrest in Vandalia on suspicion of rape was suspended for accessing pornographic websites on the job while employed by the Montgomery County Juvenile Detention Center in 2009, the Dayton Daily News and News Center 7 uncovered in a review of his county personnel records.

RELATED: Local police officer arrested for allegedly raping two women while in uniform

Justin Sanderson, 32, was arrested earlier this month by Vandalia police for allegedly raping two women at a Vandalia Knights Inn hotel last month, but was released after the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office said further investigation is needed.

RELATED: Phillipsburg officer resigned after Vandalia arrest, release

Sanderson, who resigned June 10 from the Phillipsburg department, is not currently facing criminal charges. A telephone number listed in Sanderson’s personnel records was not in service Monday.

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Personnel records from Phillipsburg show Sanderson previously worked at the Montgomery County Juvenile Detention Center from 2007 to 2013, attended the Dayton Police Academy in 2014, and briefly worked as a police officer for the Grandview Medical Center Police Department during the last four months of 2014.

Sanderson applied to become a Phillipsburg police officer in October 2015, during which time he said he worked for G4S, a security company, as a site supervisor for a Dayton Metro Library branch.

Mark Wysong — Sanderson’s supervisor at G4S, according to his application — is also the Phillipsburg police chief.

Although the Phillipsburg application asked him to disclose if he had been “counseled, reprimanded, suspended, or terminated from any employment,” the application mentioned only a problem during his G4S employment.

The application did not mention the problems during his employment at the Juvenile Detention Center as a control room operator. The job description for the position states the person is responsible for monitoring and controlling “all movement entering into and within the secure detention facility of juveniles, visitors and staff.”

Among the problems documented in his county personnel file, Sanderson allegedly:

• Made four telephone calls while at work in October and December 2008 totaling nearly four hours and received a one-day suspension in April 2009 for the infraction;

• Left his post during an August 2009 duress situation in the detention center and failed to properly wear his uniform, something for which he allegedly had already been given a warning. He received a one-day suspension in September 2009;

• Received a three-day suspension in September 2009 for using the court administrator’s Internet account on two days in July, according to a notice of suspension, which states, “All documentation from Data Services shows you are the one responsible for accessing pornographic websites on those dates whether you admit it or not”;

• In 2012 received two employee violations for insubordination and poor work quality, which led to a total of eight suspension days, according to his 2012 performance review. Violation records from that year show he once left his post for more than two hours and was “observed leaving the building … for a period of over an hour.”

By June 2013, Sanderson’s performance reviews improved, with a supervisor noting he “shows the ability to make good judgment in most situations.”

A handwritten, one sentence resignation letter in Sanderson’s county file is dated August 20, 2013, but does not give an explanation for the resignation. His Phillipsburg application states he resigned from the Juvenile Detention Center because he “wanted to begin getting into shape for academy.”

On Monday, the news organizations asked the Phillipsburg village attorney if the department was aware of the issues at the Juvenile Detention Center, but did not immediately receive a reply.

The news organizations also filed a public records request Friday with the Grandview Medical Center Police Department seeking Sanderson’s personnel file. On Monday, Kettering Health Network acknowledged the request and said it “will need some additional time to review” it.

News Center 7’s Kate Bartley contributed reporting.

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