The man charged by taxpayers to manage their city government is now facing charges from prosecutors for wanting to pay for sex with a teenager.
West Bend's mayor confirmed today that Thomas "T.J." Justice has been suspended with pay pending the investigation. If convicted, Justice faces up to 25 years in prison.
"He should be upholding the City of West Bend and not doing something foolish like this," resident Curtis Carter lamented told TODAY'S TMJ4. "You pay your taxes and you expect more out of a person than that."
Investigators claim Justice, the city administrator since 2013, took part in a lengthy courtship of a teenage girl in Muskego. Court documents show text messages were exchanged beginning in May 2015 and continuing until just a couple weeks ago.
Carter, who was born and raised in West Bend, says city officials need to act fast to restore trust between taxpayers and their government.
"The right thing right now is if he really did it, they're going to have to get him out of office," Carter said. "Pick the next person and check the backgrounds a lot better than what they did."
City records confirm T.J. Justice moved to West Bend in 2012 and is currently being paid a yearly salary of $97,695.42.
Justice posted bond and is due back in court next month.
