ATHENS, Ohio — An Athens County Sheriff’s deputy appeared in court Monday after being charged with tampering with evidence and obstructing justice in a sexual abuse investigation that came to light after a missing teenager announced she was safe on social media.

According to a release from the Athens County Sheriff’s and Prosecutor’s offices, Deputy Jimmy Childs, 52, was charged Friday with the two third-degree felonies.

The incidents allegedly occurred between May 18-21 after Robert, Deborah, Jonathan and Josiah Bellar were indicted by an Athens County Grand Jury on charges related to sexual abuse against children in their family.

Robert, 54, and Deborah Bellar, 49, of Athens, are both incarcerated at the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail, charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a second-degree felony, and two counts of endangering children. Robert Bellar turned himself in a day after his wife’s bond was set at $1 million, and Athens County Common Pleas Court Judge Patrick Lang set his bond at the same amount.

Jonathan Bellar, 26, is charged with gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony, and is being held on a $100,000 bond. Josiah Bellar, 24, is charged with three counts of rape, each first-degree felonies, and two counts of gross sexual imposition, both fourth-degree felonies. He is incarcerated on unrelated charges.

The investigation began after Serah Bellar, reported missing in April 2020, posted on social media that she was safe and had run away because she feared for her safety. She also made allegations of sexual assault by members of her family.

Childs allegedly deleted a record of a phone call with Robert Bellar, 54, during the execution of a search warrant, did not inform a supervisor of the call until after his phone was seized, deleted Robert Bellar’s contact information from his phone and made a false statement during the investigation, the release said.

After learning about the call, Sheriff Rodney Smith placed Childs on paid administrative leave, the release said.

“My office will have an outside agency conduct our own internal disciplinary investigation into Deputy Childs’ alleged conduct after the criminal legal proceedings have concluded,” Smith said in the release. “We will continue to hold our deputies to a high ethical and professional standard. There are no allegations of wrongdoing against this office or any other deputy. We will continue to be open, honest and forthcoming with this investigation.”

After being taken to the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail by the Nelsonville Police Department, Childs posted bond “according to a schedule available to any person charged in Athens County Municipal Court prior to an initial appearance,” the release said.

Childs made that appearance Monday, represented by attorney George Gerken. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 1, but if he’s indicted by a grand jury, the Municipal Court case would be dismissed and the next proceeding would be an arraignment in Common Pleas Court.

“Sheriff Smith should be commended for his open communication with us in this matter,” Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said in the release. “Our job is to protect the public regardless of the popularity of any charging decision or resolution of a case.This job requires someone to equally and fairly pursue justice on behalf of the people of Ohio, and I am extremely dedicated to that responsibility.”