DUI charges dropped after officer sexted driver

Ohio Township policeman is back on patrol

An Ohio Township police officer sent sexually explicit pictures to a woman he had charged with driving under the influence, leading to his suspension and the DUI case being withdrawn Thursday by Allegheny County prosecutors.

Ohio Township police Officer Dominic DeJulio, who began working for the department full time in February 2015, was suspended for five days without pay for his actions and required to undergo a series of psychological evaluations. He has since returned to work. “I have no concerns,” Ohio police Chief Norbert Micklos said Thursday. “We addressed it and, hopefully, that’s the end of it.”

Although Allegheny County District Attorney’s detectives investigated the allegations against Officer DeJulio, the woman who received the photos, Michelle Benninger, 40, of Monroeville, said she did not want to pursue criminal charges against him.

“She didn’t want to prosecute anybody,” said attorney Patrick Thomassey, who represented Ms. Benninger in the criminal case. “She didn’t want to ruin anybody’s life.”

“It was very upsetting and frustrating,” Ms. Benninger said. “It was just disgusting.”

Over the course of several days following her preliminary hearing date of Oct. 19, she said Officer DeJulio sent her at least six inappropriate pictures of himself — fully naked and with an erection. In one image, he is leaning back against a couch or chair with his legs spread. In another, Ms. Benninger said, he appeared to be standing in the police locker room with an earpiece in and nothing else on.

David A. Harris, a University of Pittsburgh law professor and expert on policing, said that what Officer DeJulio did was an abuse of his police powers and he should have been fired.

“The person does not belong on the job,” Mr. Harris said. “It’s inexcusable.”

The incident began when Officer DeJulio, 30, was working a sobriety checkpoint Aug. 25 along Ohio River Boulevard in Emsworth.

Another officer pulled over a car about 1 a.m. and noted the driver, Ms. Benninger, had slurred speech and smelled of