Chattanooga Police Sgt. Robin DavenportA Chattanooga police sergeant is the subject of an internal affairs investigation, the department confirmed Thursday.
Sgt. Robin Davenport was previously investigated in 2015 by both the Chattanooga Police Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for sending hundreds of text messages to an 11-year-old girl.
Assistant Chief Jerri Sutton declined to comment on the active internal investigation when reached by email Thursday.
Davenport was placed on paid administrative leave for months during the department’s internal investigation, which began in October 2015. The Chattanooga Times Free Press is submitting a records request for the results of the investigation.
Davenport, who has been with the department since July 2001, was not fired.
In July 2016, TBI announced it would not press charges after concluding its investigation into the texts. Davenport was still on leave at that time, the Times Free Press reported.
The investigation found that Davenport and the girl had exchanged more than 1,700 texts over a two-week period in 2015, including photos, messages about showering and bathing, and about sex education topics the girl was learning in school.
Davenport maintained he was communicating appropriately with the girl, who was the daughter of someone he had dated previously, the report said. The girl’s mother reportedly told investigators that Davenport was a family friend who she asked to mentor her daughter, but she reported him to police after reading their text conversations.
Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319.