LAKE WALES, Fla. -- A Central Florida police officer was arrested Thursday on child molestation charges.

Christopher Roberts, 35, a Lake Wales police officer, was charged with molestation of a victim less than 12 years of age.

Roberts allegedly had clothed genital contact with the girl while they were tickling each other, the police report said. The child told her mother about the incident and said it was not the first time it had happened, the report stated.

Police refused to provide the girl's relation to Roberts.

"Words cannot convey my disappointment and hurt," Lake Wales Police Chief Herbert Gillis said. "The members of the Lake Wales Police Department are understandably troubled by this incident. We will move forward and continue to provide exceptional law enforcement services to our community. The presence of sexual offenders in our community is intolerable. The presence of a sexual offender within a law enforcement agency represents the greatest breech of public trust. Our thoughts are with the victim during this difficult time."

Roberts resigned from the Lake Wales Police Department amid the allegations. He had been with the department since 1999.

Roberts was booked into the Polk County Jail and is being held on no bond pending his first appearance hearing on Friday.

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