Ex-Disney actor charged with 6 counts in underage sex case

Dec 24, 2018 | 9:30 AM

SALT LAKE CITY — Former Disney Channel actor Stoney Westmoreland has been charged with six felony counts after authorities said he tried to have sex with a 13-year-old boy.

Westmoreland, 48, was on the dating app Grindr when he found a profile that appeared to be an underage boy but was actually operated by a police detective in Salt Lake City, near the location where the show “Andi Mack” is filmed, prosecutors said.

A message left with Westmoreland’s agent, Mitchell Stubbs, on Monday was not immediately returned. No attorney was listed for Westmoreland in court records.

The actor was arrested Dec. 13 after he took a car from a ride-hailing app to meet the boy so they could go back to his hotel room, authorities said. He had previously sent over explicit photos and asked for nude photos in return, authorities said.

Westmoreland acknowledged to police that he had sent nude photos, and knew the person he was speaking with said he was 13 years old, charging documents state.

Westmoreland was charged Friday with enticing a minor, attempted exploitation of a minor and four counts of dealing in material harmful to a minor by an adult.

A $100,000 warrant was issued for Westmoreland, who had previously bailed out of the Salt Lake County jail. A public safety assessment filed with the court found he was a low risk to public safety. No new court date was immediately set.

Westmoreland was dropped from his role as the grandfather of the teenage title character in the Disney show after his arrest.

Westmoreland’s other acting credits include TV’s “Scandal” and “Breaking Bad.”

Lindsay Whitehurst, The Associated Press