BY VINAYA SAKSENA

CENTRAL FALLS — An allegation of showing pornography and offering alcohol and cigarettes to minors at a Boy Scout camp has led to the resignation of a police department employee, according to the city’s police chief.

According to Col. Joseph Moran, chief of the Central Falls Police Department, Randolph Johnson has resigned from his position as IT (information technology) coordinator for the department. The news comes after Johnson’s arraignment Thursday on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, procuring alcohol for a minor and providing cigarettes to a minor, though his resignation apparently predated that arraignment.
Moran declined to comment on Johnson’s time with the police department. However, he said that Johnson had been hired by the department on April 4 of 2005. He was placed on administrative leave with pay on July 28 of this year and resigned from his position on July 30, Moran said.
According to an Associated Press report, Johnson was at the Yawgoog Scout Reservation in Hopkinton with his son’s scout troop when the offenses allegedly occurred. It has been alleged that Johnson showed pornographic video material to teenaged camp staffers via a laptop computer. The teens also alleged that Johnson offered alcohol and cigarettes to one of them.
Johnson could not be reached for comment in time for this article. The Associated Press reported that Johnson had been banned from future volunteer work with scouts, though a representative of the Narragansett Council of the Boy Scouts of America had not returned a call as of press time.
Meanwhile, Moran said Johnson’s former job with the police department had been offered for union members to bid on, and would be advertised if not filled internally in the next few days. He said the position would need to be filled despite a plan suggested by Mayor Charles Moreau to leave new vacancies unfilled to help alleviate budget problems. The position, he said, was vital due to the role it played in police record-keeping.
“We’re going to (fill) the IT position,” Moran said. “It’s important for the operation of the department.”
According to court records, Johnson, a Warwick resident, pled not guilty when arraigned on the charges in the Fourth District Court on Thursday. He was released on personal recognizance, with a pre-trial conference set for August 21.