Former officer pleads guilty in East TN prostitution case

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) — A former police officer in eastern Tennessee has pleaded guilty to paying someone to have sex while on duty.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Monday that 58-year-old Ralph O. Cline, Jr. has pleaded guilty to one count of patronizing prostitution.

The state police agency says Cline was a lieutenant with the Kingsport Police Department. The agency says he paid to have sex inside his unmarked police vehicle.

Kingsport is located about 85 miles northeast of Knoxville.