ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A recently hired employee with the St. Petersburg Police Department was fired for sending sexually charged text messages to two girls he believed to be 15 and 16 years old, according to an affidavit.

Michael Kenneth Cherico, 26, was arrested Friday afternoon after sending the “teen girls” an explicit photo and enticing texts on a social media app.

St. Pete police said Cherico was actually texting an undercover detective and said, “I want to be with you so bad but I’m kinda nervous too only because the whole not being 18 yet and I don’t want any trouble, you know?”

The suspect also sent two photographs of himself in a group text with the two children, saying he was thinking of both of them when he sent the “live” image, the affidavit said.

According to the police department, Cherico was newly hired and his arrest fell on his fifth day on the job.

Cherico is charged with luring and enticing, transmission of harmful material to a minor, and the unlawful use of a two-way communication device. He is being held at the Pinellas County Jail.