Former Westmoreland juvenile shelter worker accused of inappropriate contact with teen

County detectives this week arrested a former worker at the Westmoreland County Juvenile Shelter, accusing him of having inappropriate contact with a 14-year-old girl when he worked at the Hempfield facility.

Dominic D. Hood, 25, of Penn Township is accused of accessing the girl’s Snapchat social media account last year and using it to send private messages to her and to contact other teens.

Several photographs of a partially clothed teenage girl were sent to the Snapchat account when the girl “was in the shelter and did not have account access,” she told Det. John Mandarino. She told investigators she believes they were posted by “ Hood portraying himself as her,” according to court documents.

The girl also told investigators that Hood had inappropriate conversations with her via social media and often mailed her “flirty” handwritten letters, which he asked her to destroy after reading, according to court documents. She said that Hood would often provide her his cellphone to use when he was at work so she could access social media.

When asked why he told the girl to provide her social media passwords, Mandarino said Hood responded “it was to make them more secure and monitor her account.”

Hood denied lending the girl his phone at the shelter, Mandarino wrote in court documents. The alleged incidents allegedly occurred between January and July 2021, according to court papers.

Asked about a shirtless photograph of himself that Hood allegedly sent the teen via social media, Hood told Mandarino “when he is home, he never wears a shirt and that all pictures of him that he shares from his home would be without a shirt on,” according to court documents.

Hood worked at the Hempfield shelter until July 2021, according to court documents.

Attorney Duke George Jr. of New Kensington said he plans to vigorously defend Hood against the charges.

“I can tell you he is a very nice kid and he’s never been in any trouble before this,” George said.

Nicole Kamer, director of the county detention center and shelter, declined comment.

Hood is charged with corruption of minors, criminal use of a communication facility and unlawful contact with a minor.

He is free on $10,000 unsecured bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled March 1.