Rapes today

Former Sacramento Police Officer Accused Of Raping Disabled Woman Appears ... CBS Local SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A former Sacramento police officer charged with sexually assaulting an elderly woman made his first court appearance on Friday. Gary Baker wore a suit and sat alone in a Sacramento courtroom Friday morning for his quick ... See all stories on this topic »

Officer charged with stalking wife
Jackson Sun
A police officer with the Huntingdon Police Department has been charged with stalking after his estranged wife said he has been sending her multiple text messages, driving by her home and alarming their son, according to court documents. Larry Gene ...
See all stories on this topic »

Punks roaming our streets

Sacramento Police Officer Accused of Raping Elderly Woman ...
http://fox40.com/2012/12/20/sacramento-police-officer-accused-of-raping-elderly- woman/ Sacramento Police arrested Officer Gary Baker on suspicion of...
www.wackbag.com/.../sacramento-police-officer-accused-of-r...

Stanley Police officer charged with sexual assault Chippewa Herald A member of the Stanley Police department is facing one count of fourth-degree sexual assault. The charge was filed Friday against Terry A. Karlen, 58, of 946 Emery St., Stanley. Online court records indicate the incident happened on June 16, 2012. See all stories on this topic »

Sacramento Police arrested Officer Gary Baker on suspicion of raping a 76-year-

 

#BREAKING Sacramento Police Officer Accused of Raping Elderly ...
Sacramento Police arrested Officer Gary Baker on suspicion of raping a 76-year- old woman while off duty, he department announced Thursday....more ...
frrole.com/.../breaking-sacramento-police-officer-accu-fox40-...

 

Police Officer Suspended

Police Officer Suspended For Inappropriate Contact With Student ...
Police Officer Suspended For Inappropriate Contact With Student Lexington, KY Police Officer ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGRAPGoggTI

4 stories of sexual assault by the cops

Police officer faces rape charge

http://screen.yahoo.com/former-police-officer-faces-rape-011527190.html

Grand Island VA Officer Accused of Rape

http://www.1011now.com/home/headlines/Grand-Island-VA-Officer-Accused-of-Rape-163559526.html

VA officer charged with sexual assault

http://www.theindependent.com/news/local/va-officer-charged-with-sexual-assault/article_dc093430-d5f7-11e1-b89c-001a4bcf887a.html

NJ police officer charged after Facebook incident

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/24/4654275/nj-police-officer-charged-after.html

Biological fluids issue raised in rape trial of ex-Rutland officer

 WORCESTER — The defense for Jason D. Briddon, a former part-time police officer in Rutland, tried to punch holes into the allegations of rape against Mr. Briddon, questioning an investigator on the case about why certain biological fluids weren't collected.

But the prosecution countered that the alleged crime scene changed so much it would have been difficult to collect any blood or seminal fluid.

Mr. Briddon, 39, is accused of violently raping a now 32-year-old woman on or about May 1, 2007 in a William Street building after he allegedly gave her a ride home from Ralph's Chadwick Square Diner on Grove Street.

Defense lawyer David R. Yannetti asked Worcester Police Lt. William P. O'Connor in Worcester Superior Court today if the room where the rape allegedly took place was ever processed for seminal fluid or blood. The room was never processed.

He also questioned why blood on the alleged victim's jacket was never processed to either show it was her blood, blood of Mr. Briddon or from someone else.

If the jacket was tested, it could have been discovered that the blood of another person was on it, Mr. Yannetti said in his cross examination of the lieutenant.

Assistant District Attorney Cheryl R. Riddle asked Lt. O'Connor if the room where the alleged attack occurred was processed for fluids.

The Crime Scene Unit was called to the scene, the lieutenant testified, but it was deemed the room has been changed and nothing of value to the case would be gained by processing the room.

At the time of the alleged rape, the woman said she did not know her assailant, but believed he was a police officer, possibly a Worcester officer.

The woman identified her alleged attacker as Mr. Briddon, who at the time was a part-time Rutland police officer. The identification came after the woman was shown a photograph array.

Mr. Briddon is facing charges of rape and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and is now on trial for a second time in the case.

His first trial ended in a mistrial in 2009 when a jury was unable to render a unanimous verdict. Mr. Briddon has denied raping the woman.

In 2010, Mr. Briddon was sentenced to 10 to 12 years in state prison after being convicted of unrelated charges of beating and raping a prostitute in Worcester in 2008.

Mr. Briddon's trial is scheduled to resume Tuesday

Ex-NYC officer sentenced for raping teacher; he’s appealing sentence from related conviction

 NEW YORK — A former police officer who admitted grabbing a schoolteacher off the street and raping her was sentenced Monday to at least a decade in prison as he fights a far longer sentence from a related conviction.

Monday’s sentencing resolved, for now, the complicated legal case surrounding Michael Pena’s off-duty attack on a woman heading to her first day at a new teaching job. Although Pena has long acknowledged some form of a sexual attack, the case has navigated a trial, a partial jury deadlock, a guilty plea and two sentencings — one of which is now headed for review by an

Pena, 28, declined to speak at Monday’s sentencing. He has said that he will “have that guilt for the rest of my life.”

Pena spent a night drinking and trying to pick up women before he confronted the 25-year-old teacher on an upper Manhattan street last August, according to evidence presented at his trial earlier this year. He forced the woman into an apartment building courtyard, raped her at gunpoint and threatened to shoot her in the face if she resisted, she testified. A building resident heard what was happening and called police.

Pena was in his third year as an officer. He was suspended after his arrest and fired after his conviction.

During his trial, Pena admitted sexually attacking the 25-year-old woman but denied having intercourse with her, a requirement for a rape conviction. A jury deadlocked on the rape charges but convicted him of predatory sexual assault, a top-level felony that involves wielding a weapon during certain sex crimes.

In May, Pena was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison on that conviction, a sentence he is appealing. His lawyer, Ephraim Savitt, said Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Richard Carruthers “went beyond the scope of his authority.”

As the Manhattan district attorney’s office weighed whether to retry Pena on the rape charges, he pleaded guilty last month in exchange for a minimum 10-years-to-life sentence on those charges. That term overlaps with the 75-year-plus sentence.

Carruthers said Monday he agreed to the deal only to spare the woman the pain of a second trial.

“This sentence in no way reflects the seriousness or grievous nature of this offense,” the judge said.

New Trial Date For heeling Cop

A judge dismissed a sexual assault charge against a former Wheeling police officer Tuesday but Matthew Kotson still faces four separate sexual assault trials.

Judge Arthur Recht agreed with special prosecutor David Cross and dismissed a second degree sexual assault charge against Kotson stemming back to an alleged June 2007 assault. Special prosecutor Cross says the evidence to support the charge didn't stand.

Judge Recht also rescheduled Kotson's first trial to begin Sept. 4. Those charges are connected with a Nov. 24, 2011 alleged sexual assault. It was the victim of that rape who reported Kotson and a closer look by police resulted in charges in three other cases.

Kotson, 32, now faces a total of eight charges including four counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of burglary.

All of the alleged assaults took place after Kotson became a Wheeling police officer. He was fired Dec. 2, 2011 after eight years on the force.

Judge Recht ordered earlier this year that the cases would be tried separately.

Kotson remains free on bond.

Former Fairview Cop Says Chief Fired Him In Alleged Sexual Harassment Cover-Up

Last month, we wrote about a former Fairview Police officer who claimed the chief, Granver Tolliver, a fairly litigious former Dallas deputy chief of police, sexually harassed her repeatedly. In Lisa Mitchell's lawsuit, she accused him of grabbing her by the ponytail and gesticulating crudely with his fingers during a Veterans Day parade and, on another occasion, confiding to her that he'd have "to fire her or fuck her."

On Monday, another former Fairview cop, Oscar Price, filed suit against the town, claiming he was canned for agreeing to talk about Tolliver's alleged improprieties. According to the complaint, Tolliver summoned Price to his office not long after Mitchell resigned and accused him of covering for Mitchell when she left work early. Price claims this was merely a guise to get to the true purpose of the meeting: Tolliver was "caught up in a situation with 'Lisa'...and needed Price 'to bail his ass out.'"

Tolliver did not respond as of this posting, but has previously denied Mitchell's allegations.

A few days later, Price says he was called to town manager John Godwin's office. Godwin, who left Fairview recently to take the town manager position in Paris, Texas, allegedly questioned Price about some graphic images on a thumb drive depicting Tolliver and a married woman allegedly engaged in sexual congress -- a thumb drive Mitchell claims Tolliver once placed on her desk.

Godwin, for his part, disputes Price's characterization of the meeting. "I can confirm I spoke to Price, but it wasn't about Chief Tolliver. It was about a different person," Godwin says. "He's kind of changed or exaggerated that for whatever reason. He actually didn't say anything bad about the chief and Officer Mitchell."

But Price claims Godwin wanted to know how he'd respond to an investigation into Mitchell's allegations. He says he told Godwin he feared for his job if he answered truthfully about the things he had seen and heard. Godwin, Price says, told him he would not be retaliated against, so Price opened up and told Godwin about the flash drive Tolliver allegedly left on Mitchell's desk and that he'd heard Tolliver say that "someday his penis would get him fired." He also claimed to have witnessed Tolliver bite his lip and grab his crotch as he walked behind Mitchell. Godwin, per Price's account, said he had already warned Tolliver about his behavior.

A few days later, despite Godwin's reassurances, Price claims he was fired because he "no longer supported Chief Tolliver's management style and vision for the department." He's seeking unspecified damages from the town for retaliation.

Godwin declined to discuss the reasons for Price's dismissal but says it had nothing to do with retaliation. "There was nothing to retaliate against," he says. "He didn't attack the chief on that."

Asked whether there is any merit to the allegations against Tolliver, Price says, "I don't believe so. There's no way I can know, but I don't believe so, on a personal level."

Melbourne police officer facing sex charges may soon learn fate

Melbourne police officer charged with having on-duty sexual trysts with at least three suspected prostitutes in his patrol car could soon learn whether he can keep his law enforcement job, officials report.

Officer Jose Otero, 42, was charged last month with five misdemeanor counts of purchasing the services of a person engaged in prostitution, and one count each of setting up and maintaining a place for lewdness or prostitution and solicitation of prostitution, court records show.

A pre-termination hearing on Otero’s employment with the Melbourne Police was held late Monday. No decisions have been made.

“He still is suspended with pay and the chief has not yet made a decision,” said Sgt. Sheridan Shelly, spokesman for the Melbourne Police Department, whose agency has taken on a high-profile, proactive role in recent years to try to rid city streets of prostitution.

Melbourne police administrators ordered the officer to turn in his badge, gun and police radio May 26 following findings from their initial investigation.

The case — including possible surveillance video and investigative notes on the reported encounters — was turned over to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The state agency issued Otera, who was never physically arrested or jailed, a notice to appear citation in early July.

Michael Bross, Otero’s attorney, said his client is innocent and adds that he did not have any sexual contact with the suspected prostitutes.

“There are no photos, no videos. It is an allegation. I’ve had the chance to talk to all three prostitutes and these allegations are spurious,” said Bross. “My client knows a lot of suspects and people on the road.” Bross said he believes the women may have crafted the stories to get a better outcome on their own cases.

Otero, hired in March 2008, did not attend the pre-termination hearing. His attorney did. Melbourne police would not comment on the specifics of the case.

“The chief had his meeting and is now taking everything into consideration,” Shelly said.

Melbourne police were tipped off to the allegations of wrongdoing involving Otero earlier this year and carried out surveillance of the officer.

Melbourne officers allege Otero used his patrol car for at least a year to pick up suspected prostitutes and then drive them to a secluded area in the 1000 block of South Harbor City Boulevard near the House of Lights and Home Accents store, which is not far from the police department’s substation on Apollo Boulevard, according to records.

Officers said that Otero, whose salary is $37,000 a year, repeatedly paid the suspected prostitutes for sexual acts while sitting in the marked Melbourne police cruiser, according to police records.

Police reported that Otero would then drive the suspected prostitutes to an unknown destination.

Otero could not be reached for comment.

“He’s doing fine,” Bross said. “My client has a right to resign, but he hasn’t. He chose not to because he’s not guilty.”

SDPD Officer Accused By Prostitute Pleads No Contest

 Dana was ordered to continue counseling and undergo AIDS testing.

Several felony charges, including rape, were dismissed in light of the defendant's plea.

A 35-year-old woman testified that she met Dana in April 2011 while she worked as a prostitute on El Cajon Boulevard.

She said she was standing by a Denny's restaurant when she saw Dana's patrol car and immediately tried to walk away because she was on probation for a prostitution conviction. The woman said Dana stopped his patrol car in a nearby alley.

"I said, 'I know I'm not supposed to be here,'" she said, "He said he wasn't out here for that."

The woman said she gave Dana her cell phone number, and she thought of him as someone she could trust to warn her of police activity in prostitution areas.

Sometime later, the woman said Dana texted her from his Jacuzzi, saying he wished she could be there with him. She said she had no problem with the idea of having sex with a police officer as long as he paid.

On the night of May 10, 2011, the woman said she went downtown looking for clients because there was too much police activity on El Cajon Boulevard.

She said she went home, changed clothes and went back to work on El Cajon Boulevard.

Around 2:30 a.m., the woman said she got a text, then a call from Dana and eventually met up with him near a 7-Eleven.

The woman said she and Dana made small talk near the rear of his patrol car, then he demanded sex.

"He said either I give him what he wants or I go to jail," the woman testified.

The woman said Dana put her in the back of his patrol car, then drove to a dark part of Presidio Park in Old Town. She said Dana demanded oral sex, then had sexual intercourse with her.

After the encounter, the woman said she licked her fingers and wiped saliva on the front seat of Dana's patrol car to prove that she had been there.

Defense attorney William Wolfe said earlier that the victim routinely violated her probation by going out to work as a prostitute. Wolfe said the sex could have been consensual and called the woman's credibility into question.

Dana served four years in the Marine Corps and earned several medals, Wolfe said.

The defendant joined SDPD after being honorably discharged from the military in 2007. He left the department shortly after the encounter with the prostitute.

HPD officer charged with sexual assault

A Houston police officer was arrested Thursday for a rape that allegedly took place last month.  Adan Jimenez Carranza, 32, is accused of a June 18 aggravated sexual assault, according to court records.  Carranza was relieved of duty on June 21 because of a pending internal affairs investigation, Houston Police Department spokesman Kese Smith said.  Smith said Carranza was assigned to the Westside patrol division and started with HPD in September 2009. It is unclear from early reports whether the alleged assault took place while Carranza was on duty.

Area police officer arrested, charged with stalking, battery and invasion of privacy

The Indianapolis police officer involved in a standoff with a SWAT team on Feb. 14 has been arrested in connection with his actions against a former girlfriend who had broken off the relationship.

Craig Ratcliff, 54, faces preliminary charges on three felony counts of stalking, one misdemeanor count of battery and 26 misdemeanor counts of invasion of privacy.

On Feb. 14, a distraught Ratcliff kept a SWAT team from his own Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department at bay for more than four hours at a Northside park before surrendering. That day, the officer was toting Valentine's Day gifts while standing on a small hill in the park in full uniform, with a gun at his side and a cellphone to his ear. Traffic in the area was tied up for hours while a police negotiator, a pastor and family members tried to persuade officer Craig Ratcliff, 54, to give himself up.

Ratcliff surrendered that day at 1 p.m. and was placed in an ambulance that took him to Wishard Memorial Hospital for psychological evaluation and treatment. No shots were fired, and no one was injured. Police said Ratcliff was carrying a small box of candy, a greeting card and a stuffed Minnie Mouse. Investigators at that time would not say what triggered the standoff, but the affidavit released today by the Marion County Prosecutors office makes clear that it pertained to Ratcliff's relationship with a woman named Miguelina Reyes.

The woman, after breaking off a relationship with the officer, had sought and received a protective order against the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer, the document states, but Ratcliff violated the order. The document indicates Ratcliff continually called and texted the woman and repeatedly sent her flowers against her wishes.

The officer was married to another woman during parts of his relationship with Reyes, the document states, and the woman first broke off the relationship in April 2009 when she learned of Ratcliff’s marriage.

Ratcliff was being held this afternoon at the Marion County Jail.

The battery charge stems from an incident on Jan. 8, 2011, at a local club when Ratcliff, angry that Reyes would not say she was “his lady,” allegedly grabbed the woman in a choke hold, causing bruises.

No initial court hearing has been scheduled.

Former CHP officer charged with stalking

A California Highway Patrol officer has been charged with stalking the girlfriend of a former boyfriend and other felonies, according to a complaint filed in Napa County Superior Court.

Emily Marie Seronello, 31, of Napa, is also charged with dissuading a witness from going to authorities, illegal possession of ammunition, impersonating someone else on the Internet, disobeying a court restraining order and other charges, according to the complaint filed Monday in Superior Court.

Seronello appeared in court Tuesday, but did not enter a plea. Napa County Superior Court Judge Mark Boessenecker scheduled the next hearing for Aug. 24, according to court documents.

In the meantime, Seronello remains free on $50,000 bail, according to court records.

Seronello, who was a CHP officer assigned to the Napa unit on Golden Gate Drive, had been ordered in January to stay away from her former boyfriend, a Napa resident, according to court records. Commissioner Michael Williams also ordered Seronello to possess a firearm only in connection with her official duties, according to court records.

But an investigation found that Seronello allegedly sent hundreds of harassing text messages while concealing her identity to her former boyfriend and possessed two firearms and ammunition in violation of the restraining order, according to court records.

Seronello is no longer a CHP officer, CHP representatives said Wednesday.

“As of May 2012 she’s no longer employed by the department,” CHP spokeswoman Fran Clader said.

“We take allegations of misconduct by any of our employees very seriously,” said Clader, who noted that the CHP had conducted the criminal investigation.

Seronello entered the CHP Academy in May 2005 and graduated in November 2005, Clader said.

In October, the courts ordered Seronello to stay away from her boyfriend after the Napa County district attorney’s office filed misdemeanor charges against her for allegedly entering her boyfriend’s house after she moved out, according to court documents.

In April, the district attorney’s office filed a motion to terminate a misdemeanor diversion program after she allegedly contacted the former boyfriend, a violation of the court order.

Brown signs bill closing loophole that prompted plea bargain for ex-Anderson cop

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed a bill that closes a loophole in state law that led to a controversial plea bargain given to a former Anderson police officer accused of raping a Millville woman he was taking to Shasta County jail.

Brown signed the legislation — Assembly Bill 2078 — authored by state Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, and state Sen. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale.

"I am pleased that with the governor's signature of AB 2078, we will now have the law apply to all, regardless of the color of their authority," said Nielsen in statement. "This law was a necessary step in providing justice in our community and in preventing outrageous situations such as in the Benson case from taking place in the future."

The legislation is in direct response to the 2010 case in Shasta County, where former Anderson police officer Bryan Benson, accused of kidnapping and raping a woman in his custody, was given a one-year plea bargain and was not required to register as a sex offender

According to state law at that time, someone who is in police custody can't be considered to have consented to sex with her jailer.

But District Attorney Stephen Carlton and chief deputy district attorney Josh Lowery have said the loophole arose because the woman was not in jail custody at the time of the alleged rape.

Instead, the alleged rape occurred outside an unmarked patrol car parked in a lot near the jail. That circumstance would have allowed Benson's lawyer to argue the act was consensual, prosecutors have said.

Under the plea bargain, Benson pleaded no contest in September to assault by a public officer, a felony, and soliciting a lewd act, a misdemeanor. In exchange he received a maximum one-year jail sentence and three years' formal probation.

He was not required to register as a sex offender because that was not a requirement of the misdemeanor to which he pleaded no contest.

Benson, 28, who was fired from the Anderson Police Department in August 2010 and sentenced in December to 364 days in jail, may now be under federal scrutiny.

Benson was recently transferred to Sacramento County jail at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Although federal prosecutors decline to discuss the reasons why he was transferred to Sacramento, Lowery has acknowledged that county prosecutors met in October with officials from the U.S. attorney's office and provided them with copies "of everything we had from our criminal prosecution" of Benson.

Shasta County public defender Jeff Gorder, whose office was not involved in Benson's criminal defense, has speculated federal prosecutors may have wanted the former APD officer transferred to Sacramento County because federal charges could be pending.

Although he did not know what kind of federal charges, if any, might be brought against Benson, Gorder guessed possible civil rights violations could be under discussion.

Meanwhile, the Millville woman, who is not being identified by the Record Searchlight because she is a sexual assault victim, has filed a $10 million federal lawsuit against the city of Anderson and its police department.

Benson is not named as a defendant because he filed for bankruptcy after he was fired from the police force.

A trial date has not yet been scheduled.

Investigation recounted in former Rutland officer's rape trial

WORCESTER — The investigation that led to rape and assault charges against Jason D. Briddon began in earnest July 2, 2007, when the alleged victim related to Worcester Police Lt. William P. O'Connor that she had been sexually assaulted by a man she believed was a Worcester police officer, a Worcester Superior Court jury was told yesterday.

The now 32-year-old woman said she was violently raped on or about May 1 of that year in a building in the William Street area by a man who offered her a ride home from Ralph's Chadwick Square Diner on Grove Street. She did not know the identity of her assailant but said she had been with him, a woman named Bonnie and three other men earlier in the night at two Water Street bars.

One of the men had identified himself and his male companions as police officers, she said. She also said she believed she had been surreptitiously drugged prior to the rape.

Mr. Briddon, 39, a former part-time police officer in Rutland, was ultimately charged with rape and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and is now on trial for a second time in the case. His first trial ended in a mistrial in 2009 when a jury was unable to render a unanimous verdict.

In his opening statement Tuesday, Mr. Briddon's lawyer, David R. Yannetti, said his client had been falsely accused.

Lt. O'Connor, a 28-year police veteran who has been involved in more than 3,000 sexual assault investigations, by his own count, was called to the stand yesterday by Assistant District Attorney Cheryl R. Riddle as a prosecution witness against Mr. Briddon.

He said his first meeting with the alleged victim lasted for several hours and that she provided him with physical descriptions of her assailant and the people she had been with in the hours preceding the reported sexual assault.

The woman also described her attacker's vehicle and the building where the rape allegedly occurred, according to Lt. O'Connor.

The following day, he showed the woman photographs of all 475 Worcester police officers, but she was unable to identify anyone, he said.

Lt. O'Connor testified that he then made the rounds of the bars where the woman said she had been before being raped, Jose Murphy's and the Blackstone Tap on Water Street and Ralph's. At Ralph's, he said, he learned the name of the bartender who was on duty the morning of the alleged rape.

The bartender identified her friend, Bonnie Smith, as the woman who was with the alleged victim on the morning in question, Lt. O'Connor testified.

He said he then questioned Ms. Smith and learned the identities of the men in the group, which included Mr. Briddon; Brendan McShea, another part-time Rutland police officer; and Thomas Downey, a full-time Rutland officer.

Mr. McShea and Mr. Downey were interviewed and said it was Mr. Briddon who gave the alleged victim a ride home from Ralph's, according to Lt. O'Connor.

The lieutenant's July 31, 2007, interview with Mr. Briddon was audio- and video-recorded and was played for the jury.

In it, Mr. Briddon said he drove the woman directly home from Ralph's and denied raping her. He described the woman as a “freak” and a “head case” under questioning by Lt. O'Connor.

In her opening statement in the case, Ms. Riddle told the jury the alleged victim identified Mr. Briddon as the man who raped her when she was shown his picture in a photo array.

In 2010, Mr. Briddon was sentenced to 10 to 12 years in state prison after being convicted of unrelated charges of beating and raping a prostitute in Worcester in 2008.

Mr. Briddon's trial is scheduled to resume Monday morning.

Davie cop accused of rape may be heading to trial in November

 

Stephen Olenchak, the Davie officer accused of rape in March 2009, may go to trial in November. On Thursday, Broward Circuit Judge Jeffrey Levenson set a tentative trial date of Nov. 13. Olenchak's attorney, Jim Lewis, is running for state attorney in the Nov. 6 election. If he wins, he says he will have six weeks to handle the case before being sworn in.  John Fry, now a judge, represented Olenchak in his first trial. The trial ended in December 2010, with jurors acquitting Olenchak on one charge of sexual battery but convicting him on another.  The case ended in a mistrial after a juror admitted doing her own research on Wikipedia. Olenchak was arrested in 2009 on charges he drugged and raped a family member, then 19, while his wife slept next to them. Prosecutors upgraded the charge in January to sexual battery on a helpless victim, a first-degree felony with a possible 30-year sentence.

Former Hyattsville Cop Sues City in Sex Case

Lawsuit describes incidents of sexual assault, attempted rape.

A former Hyattsville police officer has filed a federal lawsuit alleging systemic sexual discrimination and sexual harassment within the city’s police department, including charges that she was sexually assaulted by a ranking officer while attending a Fraternal Order of Police conference in Louisville, KY.

The lawsuit was filed on June 28 by Marsha Lessard, a 2005 graduate of the Prince George's County Police Academy.

Lessard was hired as a private in the Hyattsville police force within a week of graduation from the academy. She continued to work for the department until June of 2009 when she was fired, according to court documents.

Lessard is suing the city for sexual harassment, sexual discrimination and for retaliation against her when she complained to her supervisors about the situation.

"The Hyattsville Police Department has a dangerously chauvinistic culture that was rife with sexual bigotry," reads Lessard's complaint. "Male officers were allowed and encouraged to sexually harass female officers. The worst offenders acted with impunity and female officers that complained of the harassment were severely retaliated against and threatened."

Lessard's complaint lists at least 10 Hyattsville city police officers by name in describing a series of incidents that she alleges made the department a hostile work environment for women.

Hyattsville Communications Director Abby Sandel said last night that the city would not comment on pending lawsuits. During the time period covered by the lawsuit, the police department was run by Chief Douglas Holland, a position he still holds.

UPDATE - 10:05 a.m. - Sandel issued a brief statement on behalf of the city of Hyattsville earlier this morning. It reads in full:

This matter is in federal litigation. However, we believe strongly and without exception, that all City employees have the right to be treated equally and fairly. As a matter of policy, the City has long forbidden discrimination in its workplaces in any form and will continue to do so.

The complaint goes into graphic detail, describing alleged incidents of sexual harassment committed by members of the Hyattsville Police Department.

Perhaps the most shocking allegations stem from an August 2007 trip to the FOP conference in Louisville, KY, in which Lessard alleges that Cpl. Pat O'Hagan, who currently serves as the president of the Hyattsville FOP lodge, tried to rape her.

Lessard alleges that during the opening night of the conference, O'Hagan pulled her into a restaurant bathroom, groped her and forced her to touch his crotch. Lessard says in the complaint that she was able to break free when a man entered the bathroom suddenly and shouted, "What's going on?!"

According to Lessard's complaint, she told fellow police officers at the conference of the incident immediately, but no action was taken.

Later that night, Lessard alleges that O'Hagan entered her hotel room while she was sleeping, got on top of her and tried to rape her. A friend of Lessard, who was sharing a room with her, tackled O'Hagan and forced him off of Lessard and out of the room, her complaint states.

When she returned to Hyattsville, Lessard alleges that complaints filed with supervisors about O'Hagan's behavior were ignored.

A phone call to O'Hagan was not returned Wednesday night.

Lessard’s complaint also singles out Sgt. Mark Roski, whom Lessard said perpetuated an atmosphere of sexual discrimination within the department by insisting that women tolerate sexual harassment.

In March 2008, the complaint says Roski placed Lessard under O'Hagan's supervision during a round of restructuring, although Lessard vehemently objected.

Lessard’s complaint alleges that officers in the department routinely used sexist, homophobic and derogatory remarks to refer to coworkers and members of the public.

One section of her complaint alleges that city police officers would often use unmonitored radio channels to describe attractive women encountered while on patrol.

Officers were alleged to have frequently bragged of their sexual exploits in graphic detail, and others were said to have abandoned their posts to engage in sexual activities before returning to work.

Lessard claims that she was forced to go weeks without a police radio and had trouble getting other officers to provide back-up for her while on patrol.

Lessard alleges that she was subject to a litany of other discriminatory workplace abuses by her colleagues and superiors over the next two years. She bounced between active duty and disability leave until May 2009, she said, when the city let her go, saying that she was unable to resume her normal job activities.

Lessard claims that she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her workplace ordeals.

Lessard is seeking a jury trial to claim unspecified damages. Her suit also seeks to force the city to eliminate the discriminatory and harassing workplace practices alleged in her complaint.

This is not the only legal trouble for the city's police department. At least three other cases filed in Maryland's U.S. District Court against the city of Hyattsville remain open.

Two of those involve allegations of excessive force by city police officers in separate incidents. A third lawsuit, filed by a former city police officer, alleges that the city police department perpetuated a racially discriminatory work environment and violated equal employment opportunity laws in its treatment of minority officers.

Trial of ex-Mass. officer accused of rape starts

WORCESTER, Mass.—The second trial of a former Massachusetts police officer accused of raping a woman has started.

A jury in Worcester Superior Court jury on Tuesday heard opening statements in the trial of 39-year-old Jason Briddon of Westminster, a former part-time officer in Rutland. He's charged with rape and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in the alleged assault on a 27-year-old Worcester woman in May 2007.

Briddon's first trial ended in a mistrial in March 2009.

He was sentenced to 10 to 12 years in prison in 2010 after being convicted of unrelated rape charges.

The Telegram & Gazette ( http://bit.ly/L83Ehh) reports that prosecutors say Briddon offered the woman a ride home from a bar but instead raped her.

Briddon's lawyer says there is no evidence of rape.

Nude painted model frisked

The NYPD really IS getting carried away with stop and frisk.

After cops hauled a naked painted model away from her exhibition in Times Square, she said they took her to a nearby police station where she wasn't given back her clothes for about 15 minutes - and then she was frisked.

"Yes, really," said Zoe West, 22, outside manhattan federal court as she filed suit against the city and the arresting officers.

The incident happened last August 30, when the petite brunette was posing at the corner of Broadway and West 44th Street and stepped out of her G-string for the final touches of artist Andy Golub’s full-body paint job.

West's lawyer, Ron Kuby, said they'd been assured by the city that West wouldn't be arrested because she was only baring all for an art project, but three cops moved in to bust her. "Visibly unnerved by Ms. West's removal of her panties, Sgt. [Anthony] Fusaro told Ms. he had to 'bring her in,'" the suit says.

They cuffed the naked West, and used a tarp in their van not to cover her up, but for her to sit on so she wouldn't get any paint on the seat, Kuby said. She was then taken to the sergeant's desk in the lobby of the Midtown South Precinct, where she stood clothed only in multi-color paints for about 15 minutes, the suit says.

"I heard a lot of comments, like, 'Oh wow,' 'What's this,' 'What the hell is this?''' West recounted.

She was finally handed her clothing and taken to a room to dress, and when she was done, "a female officer searched her, patting her down," the suit says.

The 5'3, 90 lb. beauty was then held in the juvenile delinquents' room for about two hours before she was released without being charged. The suit seeks unspecified damages for a false arrest that Kuby said was designed to "chill artistic expression."

It apparently has - West said she's not planning on an encore. "I'm really not looking forward to getting arrested a second time," she said.

The city and the NYPD had no immediate comment.

Retrial begins for former Rutland police officer charged with rape

WORCESTER — Jury selection got under way today in Worcester Superior Court for the retrial of a former police officer charged with raping and assaulting a woman five years ago after offering her a ride home from a bar.

Jason D. Briddon, 39, a former part-time Rutland police officer, has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the alleged May 1, 2007, sexual assault.

The alleged victim told authorities Mr. Briddon raped and assaulted her after offering her a ride home from Ralph's Chadwick Square Diner on Grove Street. She said she accepted Mr. Briddon's offer for a ride after she drank from a beer he had given her and began feeling sick and dizzy.

Instead of driving her directly home, she said, Mr. Briddon drove her to a building in the William Street area, carried her inside, threw her down on a box spring and raped her.

Mr. Briddon, of Westminster, denied the allegations.

The first trial ended in a mistrial on March 13, 2009, after a 12-member jury was unable to render a unanimous verdict in the case.

In February 2010, Mr. Briddon was convicted of unrelated charges of raping and beating a prostitute in Worcester in 2008 and was sentenced to 10 to 12 years' imprisonment. He is seeking a new trial on grounds that his family was excluded from the courtroom when the jury was being chosen for the 2010 trial.

Milan cop is arrested

Milan cop is arrested

A Milan cop is charged with sexual battery after he was accused of molesting a 19-year-old woman.

Milan Police Investigator Adam Scott Martin, 39, was arrested Tuesday on one count of sexual battery by an authority figure, officials with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said on Friday.

Martin is charged as an authority figure because he is related to the victim in some way, said John Mehr, special agent in charge of the TBI in Jackson. The alleged crime did not involve Martin acting in his official capacity as a cop and did not occur while he was on duty, TBI officials said.

According to state law, sexual battery by an authority figure is defined as unlawful sexual contact involving a defendant who is in a position of trust or has supervisory or disciplinary power, or parental or custodial authority, over the victim. The charge is a Class C felony.

An order of protection has been filed to to prevent Martin from contacting the alleged victim.

Martin was arrested at a residence in Carroll County and was released from the Gibson County Jail the same day on $15,000 bond, authorities said. Martin could not be reached for comment Friday.

His arraignment is set for July 10 in Gibson County General Sessions Court.

The incident occurred on Monday, and the TBI began the investigation Tuesday at the request of District Attorney General Garry Brown, said Jason Locke, special agent in charge with the TBI in Middle Tennessee.

Milan Police Chief Tim Wright said Martin has been suspended with pay pending further investigation. Martin has worked for the Milan Police Department since March 2002.