MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - A Memphis police officer was busted in a sex trafficking sting, accused of acting like a pimp.
FBI agents arrested Sean McWhirter Sunday night in Tunica, Mississippi. Investigators say he brought two women to the hotel as prostitutes.
The five year veteran of the Memphis Police department is accused of everything from having sex in a club to pimping out prostitutes in a Tunica hotel.
At the only address listed for 30-year-old McWhirter the door was opened and closed almost as quickly. The Memphis officer was arrested around 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 16. His federal complaint was full of salacious details, including sex acts on a dance floor in the middle of a crowd, pimping prostitutes at nightclubs and even accepting payment for prostitutes while in uniform in his police car.
The investigation began in May 2011. The FBI tapped the officer's cell phone after an informant reported seeing McWhirter on and off duty at clubs known for drugs and prostitution.
According to investigators McWhirter openly pimped prostitutes at the clubs on four occasions. They say on Thursday, McWhirter accepted $120 through the window of his patrol car as payment for three prostitutes for a hotel party in Tunica on Sunday. That same night, FBI agents were waiting for the cop in the hotel room, and two prostitutes were with him.
"You would think the message would be loud and clear by now. We will do this as often as needed in order to rid this department of those who can’t make up their minds as to whether they want to be a police officer or a thug," said Memphis Police Department Director Toney Armstrong.
McWhirter has been relieved of duty with pay pending the outcome of the investigation. He was stationed at the Union Precinct. If convicted, Sean McWhirter faces 10 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.
