Officer Keith Preer Arrested (Picture)

[KC]

Officer Keith Preer

May 26, 2006 - Former Opelika Police Officer Keith Preer has been indicted and arrested on two counts of 2nd degree sexual abuse. Preer was also the head D.A.R.E. officer for Opelika City Schools.

According to Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones, Preer turned himself in to the sheriff's office around 5:30 p.m. CDT Thursday night. He has since been released on $4,000 bond. Preer was indicted around the beginning of May by a grand jury.

Preer resigned November 28, 2005. Auburn police officers arrested him on November 16, 2005, and charged him with second degree sexual abuse. According to Auburn police reports last year, the complaint was filed during the summer of 2005.

Preer was Opelika's "Officer of the Month" in December, 2004, for his work in the D.A.R.E. program. He was on the force for nine years.

According to Alabama law, Second degree sexual abuse is a Class A misdemeanor that involves a victim older than 12-years-old and younger than 16. According to Lee County District Attorney Nick Abbett, the penalty for a Class A misdemeanor is up to one year in jail and/or up to a $2,000 fine.

[WaTcHeR]

11.02.2006 - A former Opelika, Ala., police officer was found guilty today of inappropriately touching a 13-year-old girl.

Officer Everett Keith Preer, 36, who last lived in Opelika, was found guilty of second-degree sexual abuse in Lee County Circuit Court after the jury returned for deliberations for the trial's second day this morning, said District Attorney Nick Abbett.

"Our job is to prosecute," Abbett said. "I feel like justice was done."

Preer, a former Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer, was accused of touching a relative a number of times in July and August 2005, said prosecutor Kenney Gibbs. According to Auburn Police Capt. Tom Stouffer, a family member reported the allegations to the police. Preer was arrested Nov. 16, 2005. Preer remained a police officer after the allegations arose, though he voluntarily resigned his position upon his arrest, Stouffer said.

"I'm very pleased with the verdict," Gibbs said. "Very pleased. I just harped on my witness' credibility. I pointed out other evidence that bolstered her credibility."

Preer's $2,000 bond was raised to $6,000 by Lee County Circuit Court Judge Jacob Walker after the verdict, Gibbs said. Preer is out on bond pending his Dec. 14 sentencing.

Before the sentencing, a pre-sentence investigation report is expected, Gibbs said. The report will include biographical information as well as a history of Preer that the judge could use when determining a sentence.

Second-degree sexual abuse is a misdemeanor, and Preer faces up to 12 months in the Lee County Jail.

www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/15903828.htm