Virginia cop on anti-molestation task force kills himself before being arrested for same crime

A Virginia police detective who served on a regional task force investigating crimes against children killed himself Tuesday morning as investigators sought to arrest him on molestation and solicitation charges with a minor, authorities said.

Detective D. E. Abbott Jr. was wanted on two counts of indecent liberties with a minor and two counts of using a communications device to solicit a minor, the Manassas, Virginia, City Police Department said Tuesday.

"This is a tragic and sad day for the Abbott family, the juvenile victims and their families, the Manassas City Police Department, and our community," police spokeswoman Adrienne Helms said in a statement.

She did not provide details of how Abbott died. The Washington Post reported that the 39-year-old detective shot himself after a standoff that developed after officers came to arrest him.

Helms said Prince William County Police developed the case against Abbott, not the Manassas City Police Department. Abbott served on the Northern Virginia-Washington, D.C., Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Helms said.

(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif.; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Watch a report on Abbott's death, as aired on WUSA-TV, below.