Kent Igleheart, a 53-year-old city council member from Georgia town, has been arrested for maintaining a relationship with a teenage girl since she was 13.
The girl, who is now 17, confided in her mother which led to monitoring of the teenager’s cellphone for a few days before Kent’s arrest by police officers at a shopping center where he came to meet the girl.
According to The Washington Post, Igleheart, who was once included in the Georgia Trend magazine’s list of “40 Under 40,” has been charged with sexual exploitation of a child and enticing a child for indecent purposes – both felonies – and furnishing alcohol to a minor – a misdemeanor – according to online court records.
The Police say Igleheart had been sending sexually explicit messages and receiving nude photos from the girl through a messaging app called Kik, and that he had sex with the girl for the first time earlier this year, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
According to a warrant cited by the paper, Igleheart told the teen he had feelings for her.
The day of his arrest, Igleheart had booked a room at a Days Inn, located near the shopping center, in Tucker in DeKalb County, about 20 miles away from Roswell.
It is reported that last year the councilman wrote, produced and directed a short film about LGBT teenagers, titled “Unconditional,” which received a nomination from the Gwinnett Center International Film Festival.
According to the film’s website, it raised money for Lost-n-Found, a homeless shelter for the LGBT community in Atlanta.
Washington Post reports that the City officials have declined to comment on the arrest.
The latest on the arrest of a #Roswell city councilman. At 5, how a friend of Kent Igleheart is reacting to it. pic.twitter.com/Q91uC3tWXk
— Mike Petchenik (@MPetchenikWSB) October 21, 2016