Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyers Blog
Sex Crimes: Police officers are traditionally looked upon as role models in the community. Nevertheless, police officers are only human and are prone to making errors and misjudgments, just like the rest of us. Even police officers can find themselves facing legal problems, and one police officer in Georgia is now facing a statutory rape charge.
The police officer was recently arrested and jailed with regard to sex crimes he allegedly committed in February. However, the details surrounding the arrest have been kept under wraps by local authorities. Little information concerning the incident has been released to the public. The arrest happened one morning in early March.
The police officer is now facing a single count of statutory rape. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has confirmed the few details surrounding the incident that have been reported. The local city police department and city manager are now reviewing the police officer’s employment status. At last report, the man remained incarcerated in a local county detention center.
With so little to go on, it is not possible to assess the criminal charge or the prospects the accused man has to defend himself. Clearly, a statutory rape charge is serious under any circumstances and perhaps more so given the man’s employment status. However, this individual is entitled to the same presumption of innocence that protects every person accused of a crime in the state of Georgia. With so little information disclosed to the public about the underlying allegations, that presumption is all the more important. Indeed, it exists to protect innocent people from unjust convictions.
Source: wjcl.com, “Vidalia officer charged with statutory rape“, Christopher Buchanan, April 2, 2015
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