John Frederick Black, 47, admitted to the felony charges inside a Florida courtroom on Sept. 15, according to court records.
Black in January was accused of using Kik, a smartphone messenger popular among younger teens, to attempt to send explicit photos of himself and sexual messages to a person he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
In fact, the person Black was messaging was an undercover detective from Leon County, Florida.
According to charging documents, Black continued his conversation with the undercover account even after learning that the “girl” he was talking to was 13 years old. Black also discussed meeting the girl at his Houston home.
Black sent the messages over the course of three days in January, according to court records. Investigators wrote that they later found evidence of Black owning multiple Kik profiles using variations of “sgtblack.” After his arrest, Black told police that he had used the app for years and claimed to have been addicted to internet pornography. Black admitted that he would use the app to communicate with “girls” before deleting the accounts, according to the criminal complaint.
Black began working for the sheriff’s office in 2003. He most recently was assigned to the agency’s Violent Persons Warrant Enforcement task force. During his career, he also worked in the Harris County Jail and in the homicide division. He was relieved of duty following his arrest in January.
Black’s plea agreement with federal prosecutors doesn’t include a sentencing recommendation. Each of the five counts filed against him carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
Black is scheduled to be sentenced in December.