Frackville man, a Schuylkill Township cop, suspended while facing charges
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL FILE - A Schuylkill Township police car.
MARY D – A Schuylkill Township police officer was suspended Monday night as he faces charges, accused of misusing the Pennsylvania Justice Network (JNET) computer system.
Jason Lex, 49, of Frackville, is facing two felony counts of unlawful use of a computer and a misdemeanor count of official oppression.
Those charges were filed by the state Office of the Attorney General.
Schuylkill Township Supervisors took action at Monday’s meeting to suspend Lex after a brief executive session.
Supervisors Chair Charles Fayash cited the Confidence in Law Enforcement Act of 2004 in making the motion to suspend Lex “until charges are resolved.”
The act requires that an officer charged with a felony or serious misdemeanor be immediately suspended until final disposition in the case.
Lex is free on $25,000 unsecured bail and a preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 30 before Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko.
According to Coal Region Canary, Lex, in uniform, visited his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend’s home, raising suspicions as to how he found out where the new beau lived.
“A subsequent probe by Minersville Police Officer Timothy Walsh and Schuylkill County Communications Center revealed that Lex allegedly accessed JNET to search for the new boyfriend’s address,” the Canary reported. “The JNET audit report confirmed Lex’s queries about the new boyfriend and a friend of Lex’s ex-girlfriend, without any professional justification, according to an affidavit filed in the case.”
Lex, his chief told the attorney general’s office, had no police-related reasons to contact either party.
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