FBI Involved In Arrest Of Police Officer With Kosciusko Ties

Court documents filed Tuesday in the Noble County Circuit Court provide more detail about the arrest of a Wolcottville police officer by the Indiana State Police.

The officer, Zarek B. Finley, 27, previously lived in and attended school in Kosciusko County.

The probable cause affidavit alleges that on or about March 1, 2021, through Feb. 14, 2022, in Noble County, Finley committed attempted child seduction, a Level 5 felony; attempted dissemination of matter harmful to a minor, a Level 6 felony; attempted possession of child pornography, a Level 6 felony; official misconduct, a Level 6 felony; child seduction, a Level 6 felony; and sexual battery, a Level 6 felony.

On Feb. 4, 2022, ISP 1st Sgt. Deven Hostetler provided information to ISP Det. Jake J. Quick on a case involving an active police officer in Wolcottville, identified as Finley. Information was provided that a woman’s 16-year-old daughter received inappropriate messages from Finley that were sexual in nature. Quick was asked to make contact with Noble County Det. Doug Ewell to gather more information about the case.

Quick spoke with Ewell by phone who told him the mother reached out to him on Facebook messenger. He provided Quick with the message he received from the mother.

The first message appeared to be a Snapchat message from Finley that was said to have been sent to the daughter. The message talked about making out with the girl but holding off on sex “for now cause I do care about ya and don’t want it just be about that a know. And I’ll let you do whatever to me.”

Quick then read the message the mom sent Ewell. She asked who she would contact about a police officer Snapchatting young girls. She further described the police officer as giving young girls rides and sending them sexual things. She indicated she took a picture of her daughter’s phone and was sickened by what she observed, according to the affidavit. The mom had photographed the message that was previously talked about and she was worried about the situation because the officer was continuing to contact her daughter and she knew he had bad intentions, the court documents state. She also indicated this was going on with several other young girls currently and in the past. The mom brought up another 16-year-old’s name and said that girl and another were the ones that got a ride from Finley.

On Feb. 7, Quick spoke with the daughter. The daughter said she first met Finley in sixth grade when she was 13 years old. She described Finley to be the boyfriend/husband of her cheer coach. She had another contact with Finley when he had stopped her father on a traffic stop in Wolcottville.

Sometime after Jan. 1, 2022, the daughter described Finley looking her up on Snapchat and he added her. She began messaging Finley. She told Quick that she knew she was speaking to Finley because he sent photographs of his face and he was in his police uniform. She described other photographs and conversations to Quick that she had with Finley that made it clear she was speaking to him.

The daughter told Quick that she wanted to be a police officer some day and she was asking him questions about how to get into police work. Finley provided her with advice and information. Then the conversation became “weird.”

She described flirtatious messages sent back and forth between her and Finley. She said she told Finley that she was 16 and it didn’t seem to bother him. She was asked to send photographs on Snapchat and he asked her to show him “what I am working with.” She sent Finley photographs of her in her bra and panties. She said it was possible that Finley sent her a photo of his genitalia, but she was not sure.

On at least six occasions, Finley told her not to tell anyone about their conversations because he could get in a lot of trouble, the affidavit states. Finley sent her the previously mentioned message about doing sexual things with her. The daughter told Quick that Finley told her he wanted to do this on a weekend when he was working and he could pick her up in his police car.

The daughter told Quick that she and Finley had conversations about her being a virgin. The girl was emotional when talking about the messages and when she sent photographs, the court documents state. She told Quick she had concerns because Finley was a police officer and, after the conversation began with Finley, she wasn’t sure what would happen or what he would do so she stopped.

She told Quick that she had heard from friends and other people that Finley was engaged in inappropriate relationships with other young females and she didn’t believe it until she began getting messages from Finley. She told Quick that she felt Finley was in a position of authority over her because he was a police officer.

The daughter told Quick that Finley had blocked her on Snapchat because she was ignoring his messages. On Feb. 7, Finley began messaging her again while she was in school. Some messages were being sent back and forth between them and then she blocked him. The daughter said that when photographs and messages were sent, she described seeing Finley at the police department, in his police vehicle and at his home.

On Feb. 9, FBI Task Force Officers Kirsten Lewis and Chris McCarty took over the Snapchat account of the daughter. Finley had blocked the daughter on Snapchat and, when he was unblocked, he immediately messaged her. Lewis and McCarty had been engaged in conversation with Finley since taking over the account. Conversations at times were been sexual. Finley attempted to arrange a meeting with who he thought was the daughter, the court documents state.

On Feb. 13, Finley sent a video depicting him touching his genitalia over his clothing. He also sent a photo of his exposed genitalia to the daughter’s Snapchat account. Finley also asked the officers - posing as the daughter - for photographs of herself nude and touching herself, in addition to talking to her about oral sex.

On Feb. 14, Finley arranged to meet with officers posing as the daughter. He had conversations with them about possible sex acts that would take place and a meeting location was discussed. Officers observed Finley driving his fully marked police car showing up at the pre-determined location in Rome City. Finley was on duty at the time, court documents state.

Officers made contact with Finley and he was asked to come in for an interview, which he agreed to. Quick spoke to Finley who admitted to having conversations with the daughter on Snapchat and that he knew the girl was 16. Finley described being a mentor to her and he was giving her advice about becoming a police officer. Court documents state that Finley admitted that the conversations at times were sexual in nature. At first, Finley told Quick that he didn’t send nude photographs to the daughter’s account. Quick then showed him the photograph that was sent to the daughter’s account that depicted his genitalia exposed. Quick also told Finley that as of Feb. 9, he was not communicating with the girl but with law enforcement. Finley then admitted to sending the photo of his genitalia the night before and requesting photographs be sent to him.

Quick asked Finley about what was going to occur when he planned to meet the girl on Feb. 14. Finley said he was just going to talk to her. Quick then pointed out the sexually charged messages on the Snapchat accounts, and Finley admitted there were discussions of sex acts taking place when they met.

Finley was asked about contact with other juvenile females, including a 17-year-old and another girl who he provided a ride for while on duty. Finley said he provided a police service to them as a courtesy transport. Finley told Quick he picked them up and took them to another house in his police car, court documents state. He denied there was any sexual contact with them.

On Feb. 14, Quick spoke with the 17-year-old. She described having a relationship with Finley and interacting with him while he was on duty. She described getting rides from him in his police car while he was on duty. She was asked about Finley transporting her and her friend. The 17-year-old told Quick that he did take them to a friend’s house, and, when she was being transported she was in the front seat next to him. She told Quick that Finley had his hand on her upper thigh while he was driving them.

The 17-year-old told Quick that between March 1, 2021, and April 30, 2021, she went on rides with Finley in his police car. She described him putting his hand on her female genitalia outside of her clothing. Finley allegedly attempted to put his hand down her pants, but she pulled his hand out. She described Finely continuing to touch her and when she told him “no,” he moved his hand away. Finley then put his hand on his genitalia and began touching himself. The girl told Quick, “He is a police officer, I can’t believe he is doing this.”

The court documents state that Finley was armed with his duty weapon during this incident.

It was also during this time period that Finley asked the 17-year-old to send him photographs and she sent him pictures of her exposed breast. Finley sent her pictures of his exposed genitalia. The girl also told Quick that Finley snuck her into the police department when he was working. She said he touched her, kissed her, picked her up and pushed her against the wall while he was kissing her. The incident that occurred with Finley in 2021 occurred when the girl was 16.

Finley was arrested by the ISP Monday.