Boy Scout faces charges for 1-900 calls

A Boy Scout Explorer might face charges from the Athens County Prosecuting Attorney for allegedly making $1,000-worth of 1-900 phone calls from the Athens County Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office is considering ways to handle the present case and how to prevent similar calls from being made in the future.

The 15-year-old male allegedly made the calls from December to Jan. 7, according to a Sheriff's Office news release. The calls were made in the office building.

Some of the Explorer program's purposes are to create roll-models and to allow observation of officers' duties. During the program, Explorers have access to the entire building as long as a supervisor accompanies them, Sheriff Vern Castle said.

"Obviously this kid wasn't supervised," Castle said.

Sheriff's Office participation in the program has been severed until the case is settled, he said. In the future, rules and guidelines will be outlined before teens have access to anything, he said.

"They will be supervised from now on," Castle said.

The Athens County Prosecutors Office is reviewing the case for possible charges. The teen might be removed from the program for his behavior, Castle said.

Legal action might be taken so the Sheriff's Office can be reimbursed for the calls. The ideal situation would be for the teen to get a job to pay the debt, Castle said.

- Natalie Myers