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Cherokee County Sher-iff's Department Det. Chris White said Rusk police Officer Chris Hennessy, 24, was arrested last week after detectives concluded an investigation after receiving a tip.

"We received information and began an investigation based on the allegations. During the process, we obtained enough evidence for a probable cause arrest warrant," he said.

White said Hennessy had once worked for the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department as a jailer.

"It is just a surprise. We did notify Child Protective Services as per law. He was arraigned by Justice of the Peace Teresa Phifer and was released the same day on a $15,000 bond," he said.

White said the victim was a student at Rusk High School and not related to Hennessy.

Rusk Police Department released a statement that the department had been notified by the sheriff's office and Hennessy had been terminated.

"The Chief of Police (Ronnie Miller) made the decision, based on information obtained from the sheriff's department to terminate the employment of Officer Hennessy, effective immediately," the statement said.

Miller told the Tyler Morning Telegraph on Tuesday that the incident had painted his department in a negative light.

"This gives all law enforcement a black eye and it's an embarrassment to me and my department, but we will pick up and move on," he said.

Miller said Hennessy had been on the force as a full-time officer for three and a half months.

"We ran a background check on him and his training officer had reported that he was making a good officer," he said.

Miller also said Hennessy had been a reserve officer prior to being hired as a full-time officer and had recently graduated from the police academy.

"I don't judge my entire department by this incident. He is an individual and we have some good officers on this force," he said.

Miller said his department does not have an internal affairs division and thought the investigation was handled better by an outside agency.

"I'm glad that the sheriff's department is doing the investigation, because I didn't want anyone thinking we didn't want the law followed to the letter," he said.

Kenneth Dean covers Cherokee and Rusk counties. He can be reached at 903.596.6353. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com