Ryan Shomaker, a former Byrnes Mill reserve police officer, has been charged with a felony for allegedly molesting a boy he met through a social media dating app.
The victim was 13 when the alleged sexual abuse began nearly five years ago, the probable-cause statement said.
Shomaker, 45, of Washington was charged on Dec. 28 with first-degree statutory sodomy, an unclassified felony punishable by five years to life in prison, court records show.
Shomaker turned himself into the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday (Jan. 2), Sheriff Dave Marshak said in a written statement.
Shomaker was being held this morning (Jan. 3) on a $50,000 cash-only bond, according to Jefferson County Jail records.
Shomaker “separated” from the Byrnes Mill Police Department on Oct. 31, Chief Frank Selvaggio told the Sheriff’s Office, the report said.
However, Byrnes Mill officials would not say if Shomaker resigned or was fired.
Shomaker was arrested and charged after the alleged victim was questioned by a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy on Nov. 2 as part of an investigation into “suspected criminal conduct of a Byrnes Mill Police officer,” the Sheriff’s Office reported.
The victim told authorities he met Shomaker through Grindr, which claims to be the world’s largest social networking app for gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.
The boy said the two first met in February 2014, after the victim posted a profile on Grinder, Shomaker saw it and requested to meet him, the probable-cause statement said.
At the time, the victim was about a week away from turning 14, he told authorities.
The victim said the first time the two allegedly met, Shomaker picked him up near the Candlelight Gardens neighborhood and then the two went to Shomaker’s former home in Eureka, where the victim allegedly was sexually molested, according to the report.
About three days after that meeting, Shomaker allegedly contacted the boy again and arranged to meet near the Candlelight Gardens neighborhood and then reportedly drove the boy to a parking lot at the Pleasant Valley Nature Reserve in House Springs, where Shomaker allegedly molested the boy again, the statement said.
While at the park, the victim claims people asked them if they were there to sell drugs, and Shomaker told them they were not and later informed the boy he was a police officer, the report said.
The victim said after that encounter he told Shomaker he was not 18, the required age to use Grindr, and Shomaker allegedly replied, ‘I know,’ the report said.
The victim said he became involved in a “lengthy relationship” with Shomaker, who allegedly had numerous sexual encounters with the boy in Shomaker’s vehicle, according to the report.
In addition, the boy said during their relationship, he would stay at Shomaker’s home for several days at a time with access to computers, phones and cloud server, the report said.
The boy also said while staying with Shomaker, he often missed school and occasionally would steal Shomaker’s vehicle to get there, according to the report.
The victim told authorities he tried to end contact with Shomaker several times, but Shomaker threatened to create charges against the victim’s family, the report said.
Searches of the victim’s high school attendance records align with the dates the victim told police he was staying at Shomaker’s home, the statement said.
Shomaker allegedly told investigators he had a relationship with the victim for at least two years, which would have made the boy a maximum of 16 at the time of their sexual encounters, but he would not comment about the sexual nature of the relationship, saying the teenager was a “friend,” the report said.
In addition, Shomaker allegedly told authorities the boy had stayed at his home several times, but insisted the victim “just showed up,” according to the report.
Shomaker also allegedly confirmed the boy had stolen his vehicle on at least one occasion, the report said.
Shomaker told authorities he didn’t know the boy’s age and speculated that he was 19 or 20. However, Shomaker allegedly admitted that he knew the boy was in high school for part of the time they knew each other but claimed he didn’t know when the victim graduated, the report said.
Investigators, though, said Shomaker knew the boy’s graduation date based on text messages between him and the victim, according to the report.
Shomaker is the fifth officer to leave the Byrnes Mill Police Department over the past few months, including former Chief Gary Dougherty, who was reassigned as the city’s director of community relations. Selvaggio took over as chief on Oct. 25 and requested that the Sheriff’s Office investigate Shomaker, authorities reported.
Roger Ide, who was a lieutenant, and Kevin Schroeder, an officer, recently were fired, Byrnes Mill City Administrator Debbie LaVenture said. Also, James Iken, who was a corporal, resigned not long after Byrnes Mill Police took a vote of no confidence against Ide in August and forwarded a letter signed by eight to the Board of Aldermen detailing numerous complaints against Ide.
Ide and Schroeder were put on administrative leave without pay after the Arnold Police Department investigated the Byrnes Mill Police Department and submitted a report about the investigation to the city on Sept. 28. After the city held pre-termination hearings for each of the officers, they were fired, LaVenture said.
The Byrnes Mill Police Department recently hired John Navratil of St. Louis County, who been working part-time as an officer with the Bella Villa Police Department, Selvaggio said.
Byrnes Mill now has six full-time officers, including the chief, two part-time officers and two reserve officers, LaVenture said.
She also said the city is still looking to hire more full-time and part-time officers.