St. Pete Police Officer Accused Of Having Sex With Minor

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- A St. Petersburg Police officer has turned himself in at the Hillsborough County Jail after a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of having sex with a minor.

Officer Iraj Karkevandian, 34, is charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor, a second-degree felony.

According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, he was removed from patrol duties on Dec. 6 after the department learned of the investigation.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office began its investigation after receiving a report that Karkevandian had been communicating with a 17-year-old girl between 2013-14 through a mobile messenger application. Then, in October or November 2017, the sheriff's office said Karkevandian went to the victim's home where they engaged in sex.

On Tuesday, when the St. Petersburg Police Department was notified that the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office had filed charges against Karkevandian and an arrest warrant was pending, the department took his police-issued equipment, placed him on administrative leave and escorted him home.

On Wednesday evening, when Karkevandian was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail, St. Petersburg Police Assistant Chief Michael Kovacsev, acting on behalf of Chief Anthony Holloway, issued an administrative order suspending him without pay until the outcome of his criminal case.

Karkevandian was sworn as a St. Petersburg Police Officer on June 23, 2014.

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