By Jacob Gallant | January 21, 2021 at 3:03 PM CST – Updated January 21 at 3:03 PM
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A former Jackson police officer faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges.
Officer Mark Coleman, 57, pleaded guilty to obstruction of a federal investigation, Acting U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca announced.
Coleman is accused of deleting and concealing text messages and images of a 16-year-old girl after she was reported missing.
Investigators say Coleman had a relationship with the teen before she was reported as a runaway and attempted to delete the evidence off his phone to prevent federal investigators from connecting him to the case.
Court documents say Coleman is accused of trying to entice the girl into sexual activity.
He was indicted last year and will be sentenced in April. He faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.
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