Brookhaven has fired its Parks and Recreation director after Cobb County police arrested him Tuesday on charges of soliciting a minor.
Patrick Nalley was arrested when he showed up at a Marietta location where he made plans to meet the person he thought was a 14-year-old girl, according to a press release from the city of Brookhaven announcing his termination.
Nalley had actually been communicating with an officer from the Cobb County police department. He is accused of contacting the undercover officer during business hours and drove a Brookhaven-owned vehicle to the meet-up.
Nalley is charged with enticing a child and obscene internet contact with a child, both felonies, according to Cobb County Jail records. He is being held there on $20,000 bond. Cobb County police Sgt. Wayne Delk said Nalley was arrested by the agency’s special victim’s unit.
Brookhaven hired Nalley about three months ago and said he cleared several background checks. The city said he had not been accused of any other allegations during his employment there. He was fired immediately following the arrest.
“Although we understand the presumption of innocence, we are acting out of an abundance of caution, as our parks and recreation facilities often have hundreds of children and teens recreating or competing in team sports activities during any given summer day,” Brookhaven City Manager Christian Sigman said in a statement.
Nalley lived in Virginia prior to his being hired by Brookhaven. He briefly served as director of Parks and Recreation for Henrico County, but resigned about three months into the job and was escorted from his office, according to The Henrico Citizen. The county manager told the newspaper there he couldn’t comment because it involved personnel matters.
Before that, he served for about 16 months as director of Recreation, Tourism and Cultural Development in Amherst County, Virginia.
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