COLUMBUS, Miss. — The sports editor of a Mississippi newspaper is accused of sexually exploiting a minor.
The Commercial Dispatch reports 47-year-old employee Ronald Scott Walters was arrested Tuesday by Starkville police on an outstanding arrest warrant from Horn Lake.
Horn Lake police Capt. Joseph Keene says the male victim and his parents reported an incident to authorities in November that named Walters. Keene said Walters tried to meet with a boy for sex in Horn Lake, but he never actually did.
The Horn Lake Police Department said Walters had enticed a child to meet for sexual intercourse. Investigators say they had been messaging each other on their phones for some time.
Even complete strangers like Ladarius Mason are sickened by the allegations.
“I don’t see how people can think that way about kids, you know what I’m saying? You should never think that way about an underage kid,” he said.
Doris Garrison, like so many people, worries about predators getting to kids through their phones.
“It’s not a safe world for children out there anymore. Everything is instant,” she said.
The newspaper says Walters was an editor at the time of his arrest and began working at the newspaper in 2011 as a sports reporter. He was promoted to editor this month.
Walters is charged with exploitation of a minor. It’s unclear if he has a lawyer. He is set to appear in court Wednesday.