Post by WaTcHeR on May 20, 2006 11:32:13 GMT -5
Officer Tyrone Chrisjohn
05/20/2006 - Kingston - Saugerties police Officer Tyrone Chrisjohn has been in hot water since February, when he was charged with raping two teenage girls and suspended from the force.
This week, an Ulster County grand jury handed up new trouble for Chrisjohn.
Chrisjohn, a four-year veteran of the village's police force, was indicted on felony charges of bribe receiving and misdemeanor charges of official misconduct, attempted sexual abuse and attempted forcible touching. The grand jury also indicted Chrisjohn on the felony rape charges involving the two teens - a 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl.
Chrisjohn, 34, of Saugerties, has been free on $50,000 bail since Feb. 24. But when he's arraigned next week in Ulster County Court, in light of the new charges, "we will be asking the judge to consider increasing bail," District Attorney Donald Williams said yesterday.
Chrisjohn's lawyer, E. Stewart Jones of Troy, couldn't be reached yesterday.
Four people have accused Chrisjohn of committing crimes, the youngest of them a 14-year-old girl. She and the 16-year-old gave statements to state police, who launched an investigation at Williams' request, after the district attorney's office received complaints from three sources about Chrisjohn's conduct.
Those complaints led to the Feb. 22 arrest. Chrisjohn is accused of having sex with the girls in a local park while in uniform during the summer of 2004, according to records that are part of the case.
The investigation continued after Chrisjohn's arrest. It turned up a woman who told state police that Chrisjohn fixed tickets for her last summer, leading to the charges of bribe receiving.
Williams declined to say what Chrisjohn received in exchange for fixing the tickets, only that "there was a quid pro quo."
The fourth accuser told state police that sometime between September and November of 2004, Chrisjohn tried to molest her, leading to the misdemeanor charges of attempted forcible touching and attempted third-degree sexual abuse.
Williams has been a prosecutor in his native county for 27 years. Yesterday, he said "I cannot recall, in the years I've been here, an allegation of this nature being brought to this office."