Post by WaTcHeR on May 31, 2006 11:48:02 GMT -5
Officer Thomas C. Lowe
05.31.2006 - MOUNT HOPE — A six-week investigation conducted by State Police from Beckley and Oak Hill resulted in the Tuesday arrest of a Mount Hope police officer on five separate charges, three of which involve the alleged sexual abuse of a woman who was stopped during a motor vehicle checkpoint in April.
Cpl. Thomas C. Lowe, 40, of Fayetteville, was arrested without incident around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and charged with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, one count of daytime burglary and one count of extortion, Sgt. W.J. Scott of the Oak Hill State Police detachment said.
Lowe posted $10,000 bond and was released pending a hearing within the next 20 days. At that time, a Fayette County magistrate will determine if there is probable cause to refer Lowe’s case to the September term of the grand jury.
As he exited a State Police SUV and walked toward the judicial annex just prior to his arraignment, Lowe was wearing street clothes and appeared calm and emotionally composed.
According to Scott, Lowe has been placed on administrative leave by the Mount Hope Police Department. As conditions of his bond, he cannot leave the state without the approval of the court and can have no contact with any of his alleged victims.
Lowe’s alleged journey to the other side of the law began April 23 when the Southern Regional Jail referred a complaint against him to Trooper 1st Class R.M. Giles of the Beckley State Police detachment. Giles contacted Scott and Trooper C.L. Adkins, both of Oak Hill, because the alleged crimes occurred in Fayette County.
According to Scott’s report, Lowe — along with Mount Hope Patrolmen M. Jarvis and J. Ratliff — conducted a checkpoint April 22 and encountered a woman who was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence.
During the arrest and processing of the woman, Lowe allegedly “made physical contact in a sexual manner” with her. All three sexual abuse charges stem from that alleged incident.
As the investigation unfolded, other problems surfaced against the five-year veteran of Mount Hope’s police force. Giles received a complaint that Lowe allegedly obtained money from an individual on a debt owed to another individual.
Furthermore, Adkins investigated a complaint from a female that Lowe allegedly entered her residence and exposed himself while in the home.
“Complaints of this nature aren’t everyday occurrences,” Scott explained, adding that allegations against Lowe go as far back as March 2004.
“We took this (sexual abuse) complaint seriously, especially the type of complaint that it was. Mount Hope is a small community and people talk. That prompted other people to contact us. We had to find out what was rumor and what was fact. It’s a delicate situation, to say the least, to investigate a fellow police officer.”
Scott said his agency had received “some” cooperation from the Mount Hope Police Department, although he declined to elaborate. Police Chief Mitch Canterbury could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon. Scott described the investigation as ongoing.
Each first-degree sexual abuse charge carries a potential penalty of one to five years in prison upon conviction, while daytime burglary entails one to 10 years and extortion results in one to five years.