A Franklin County judge today ordered a Columbus police officer to attend an educational program after he pleaded no contest to charges of soliciting a prostitute. Jim Letizia reports.
Robert Schoolcraft must attend what is called "John School," an eight-hour weekend course designed to educate offenders about sexually transmitted diseases, others who were robbed or killed, and how their acts spark other neighborhood crimes. More than 30 U.S. cities have such programs. Some are designed to discourage repeat offenses, while others hope to divert suspects from a crowded judicial system.
Schoolcraft is one of three west side patrol officers recently relieved of duty after they became the subjects of separate solicitation investigations. Probes on the other two continue. Schoolcraft was charged last month when he told investigators he paid a woman for sex. The woman complained to police in early December. It is not clear whether Schoolcraft was on- or off-duty at the time. Schoolcraft was cleared of criminal wrongdoing and departmental violations in 2014 after he shot a man a year earler at a far west side motel.
