"Your age is a turn on:" Former West Bend city administrator pleads guilty to soliciting sex from teen

WAUKESHA COUNTY -- 50-year-old Thomas "TJ" Justice, the former West Bend City Administrator, accused of trying to pay for sex with a teenage girl has reached a plea deal in the case against him.

Thomas Justice



Justice on Thursday, December 8th pleaded guilty to a felony charge of soliciting a child for prostitution.

Justice will be sentenced on March 2nd.

Conversations between Justice and the then-16-year-old girl allegedly began through an online dating website, and later spilled into nearly 260 text message conversations beginning in May of 2015.

Justice allegedly wrote: "First visit, $200 like we talked. Fair? You won't get pregnant. That won't happen."

At one point, he even sent a photo to the girl of West Bend's City Hall, allegedly writing: "Here's my view from work," asking to have relations with the girl in his office.

A police report obtained by FOX6 News confirms Justice sent text messages to a 16-year-old girl from his office in City Hall.

Justice was on paid administrative leave from his position as West Bend city administrator, and he submitted his resignation on April 29th.

The report from the Muskego Police Department was obtained by FOX6 News one day prior to his resignation.

T.J. Justice



Police say Justice sent hundreds of text messages to the 16-year-old girl. Police say in many of those messages, Justice offered to pay the teen for sex:

"Hey beautiful, wanna make some extra money today?"

"Hey babe, I still want you. Give me a chance to take care of you babe, just give me a chance. Age means nothing to me babe."


Justice was arrested in Muskego after police got hold of the victim's cell phone, and posed as the 16-year-old girl -- asking Justice to meet at a Dairy Queen restaurant.

According to the report, Justice offered the teen up to $500 for sex.

A search warrant was executed at Justice's house and at his office at City Hall. Police say Justice messaged the teen from his office.

West Bend City Hall



Police had to use a sledgehammer to enter Justice's West Bend home. No one answered the door when they came looking for cell phones, hard drives and GPS equipment.

Thomas Justice's home



Justice allegedly met the 16-year-old girl on the dating site "OkCupid." Investigators say the teen created a profile on the adults-only site and carried on conversations with Justice for months.

The girl told police she never met anyone from the site in person, but investigators note in the report that she was "not cooperative with providing further information."

Thomas Justice



Her mother, who discovered the text messages, initially asked police to talk with the girl about internet safety. The mother threatened to send the girl to an out-of-state school that doesn't allow internet use, according to the report.

From the text messages, police say it was clear Justice knew he was talking to an underage teenager. On Christmas, he allegedly wrote:

"Merry Christmas to the most beautiful 16-year-old on the planet."

"Your age is a turn on. Accept that, and let's figure this out babe."