A Tamaqua police officer is in Columbia County Prison on Friday after the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office charged him with numerous sex crimes involving a minor and several involving sex with an animal.
Court records show Christopher Cordes, 29, was arrested on Friday and arraigned before District Magistrate Russell Lawton in Bloomsburg. Cordes has a Bloomsburg home address. He’s employed as a police officer in Tamaqua.
Tamaqua Police Dept. has suspended Cordes indefinitely without pay.
The Attorney General’s Office is charging Cordes with the following felonies, some of which have multiple counts:
- Photographing, videotaping, depicting on computer or filming sexual acts
- Unlawful contact with a minor
- Disseminating explicit sexual material with a minor
- Possessing child pornography
- Criminal use of a communication facility
- Conspiracy to disseminate photos and film of child sex acts
- Conspiracy to possess child pornography
He’s also charged with three counts of sexual intercourse with an animal.
According to a report from the Republican Herald, Cordes allegedly used his Snapchat account to meet minor girls and also used that account to reportedly express his sexual interest in children.
Cordes also allegedly had videos of himself having sex with dogs on his Snapchat account.
Lawton remanded Cordes to Columbia County Prison on $250,000 cash bail, which hasn’t been posted as of this post going live.
Tamaqua Police Suspend Cordes
Tamaqua Police Chief Michael Hobbs released a statement following Cordes’ arrest in which he says the officer has been suspended without pay indefinitely.
Here’s his full statement:
Officer Christopher Cordes of the Tamaqua Police Department was arrested this morning by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office and is being arraigned on several criminal charges. Our office only just became aware of this situation this morning, and we are not in a position to comment on the charges specifically. However, we are cooperating fully, and we will continue to cooperate fully in the Attorney General’s investigation of Officer Cordes. We are not aware of any allegations of inappropriate activity while Officer Cordes was on duty. At this time, Officer Cordes has been suspended indefinitely without pay for conduct unbecoming a police officer. The Borough and the Police Department will consider further action as more information becomes available on Officer Cordes’s criminal charges.
Tamaqua Police Chief Michael Hobbs
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