FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida police officer is accused of engaging in online sex chats with an undercover detective who posed as a minor, authorities said.

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Louis Joseph Walsh, 29, was charged with two counts of transmission of material harmful to a minor, according to Broward County Sheriff’s Office online booking records.

Walsh is a member of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and also works as a security officer at two Broward County Catholic schools -- Cardinal Gibbons High School and St. Anthony Elementary School, the Sun-Sentinel reported. Walsh is also an assistant wrestling coach at the high school, according to the newspaper.

According to investigators, Walsh sent photos of himself online that exposed his genitalia to who he believed was a juvenile but in fact was an undercover officer from Minnesota. Walsh was arrested Wednesday at the Fort Lauderdale Police Office, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

“The conversations were sexual. The person also took a picture of himself and exposed his private parts,” Broward County Sheriff’s Office Detective Veda Coleman-Wright told WSVN. “Investigators from Minnesota shared that photo with our detectives, and our detectives were able to identify the individual. They were able to confirm that this was a police officer with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.”

In a statement, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department said it was “shocked and disappointed” to learn about Walsh’s arrest.

“The details surrounding these allegations are very difficult to hear and do not reflect the character and professionalism expected of the men and women of this agency,” the statement said.

Interim police Chief Patrick Lynn placed Walsh on administrative leave without pay while the case is pending, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

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