Post by Critique on Jan 8, 2007 3:40:45 GMT -5
January 7, 2007
By Christian Richardson
A Pinal County sheriff’s detective resigned in mid-November amid allegations that he had sex with a reported rape victim after he had her husband booked into jail, police records show.
Also in mid-November, the charges against the husband, a 24-year-old from Arizona City, were dismissed due to credibility problems with the alleged victim.
William P. Langan, 38, of Florence had been with the sheriff’s office since 2002 and had a spotless record until the May 15, 2006, consensual encounter with the woman, who was one month pregnant.
Sheriff Chris Vásquez said his office learned of the incident Oct. 26 after Langan, a member of the domestic violence unit, told a public defender in an audiotaped conversation that he had sex with her client’s wife.
Vásquez immediately called for an internal affairs investigation, said sheriff’s office spokesman Mike Minter.
The sheriff’s office informed Langan that he would be reassigned to other duties during the investigation into allegations of “conduct unbecoming” a member of the department, Vásquez said.
On Nov. 6, Langan submitted a letter of resignation that took effect Nov. 17, Vásquez said. Langan’s personnel file was made available to the Tribune on Thursday in response to a public records request originally filed in November.
The file shows a history of praised performance for Langan from the sheriff’s office and the public. Langan served on the tactical team and was a firearms instructor. He also received the medal of valor.
“He’s had a pretty clean record here, spotless actually,” Vásquez said. “This was something that was totally a shock to me. I about fell out of my chair, actually, when my chief deputy informed me of what happened.”
On May 15, the unidentified woman told authorities about domestic violence that she said began days earlier, according to a sheriff’s office report.
In an application for an order of protection, she wrote that on May 13 her husband punched her and threatened her life. On May 14, she said he threatened her life and the life of her unborn child. The next day, she said, he forced himself on her and sexually assaulted her in the bedroom.
According to the report, Langan took over the case from a deputy and met the woman at an advocacy center in Toltec, where she underwent a rape examination. She had a bite mark on her left chest and bruises on her arms.
Her husband was arrested, and a deputy transported him to a detention center in Florence where he was booked on charges of sexual assault and threatening/intimidating his wife.
The man was eventually charged with six counts of sexual assault and one count of threatening/intimidating. The charges were dismissed Nov. 14, according to Chris Roll, chief civil deputy for the Pinal County Attorney’s Office.
Paperwork filed in Pinal County Superior Court shows the county attorney’s office motioned for the dismissal of charges. “Due to lack of victim credibility, there is currently no reasonable likelihood of conviction,” read the paperwork signed by Craig Raymond, deputy county attorney.
The internal affairs investigation is ongoing. Results of the investigation will be forwarded to the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, which could revoke Langan’s license to serve as a peace officer in Arizona.
Messages left at a home phone number listed in Langan’s personnel file went unreturned, and he could not be reached for comment.
www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=81875
By Christian Richardson
A Pinal County sheriff’s detective resigned in mid-November amid allegations that he had sex with a reported rape victim after he had her husband booked into jail, police records show.
Also in mid-November, the charges against the husband, a 24-year-old from Arizona City, were dismissed due to credibility problems with the alleged victim.
William P. Langan, 38, of Florence had been with the sheriff’s office since 2002 and had a spotless record until the May 15, 2006, consensual encounter with the woman, who was one month pregnant.
Sheriff Chris Vásquez said his office learned of the incident Oct. 26 after Langan, a member of the domestic violence unit, told a public defender in an audiotaped conversation that he had sex with her client’s wife.
Vásquez immediately called for an internal affairs investigation, said sheriff’s office spokesman Mike Minter.
The sheriff’s office informed Langan that he would be reassigned to other duties during the investigation into allegations of “conduct unbecoming” a member of the department, Vásquez said.
On Nov. 6, Langan submitted a letter of resignation that took effect Nov. 17, Vásquez said. Langan’s personnel file was made available to the Tribune on Thursday in response to a public records request originally filed in November.
The file shows a history of praised performance for Langan from the sheriff’s office and the public. Langan served on the tactical team and was a firearms instructor. He also received the medal of valor.
“He’s had a pretty clean record here, spotless actually,” Vásquez said. “This was something that was totally a shock to me. I about fell out of my chair, actually, when my chief deputy informed me of what happened.”
On May 15, the unidentified woman told authorities about domestic violence that she said began days earlier, according to a sheriff’s office report.
In an application for an order of protection, she wrote that on May 13 her husband punched her and threatened her life. On May 14, she said he threatened her life and the life of her unborn child. The next day, she said, he forced himself on her and sexually assaulted her in the bedroom.
According to the report, Langan took over the case from a deputy and met the woman at an advocacy center in Toltec, where she underwent a rape examination. She had a bite mark on her left chest and bruises on her arms.
Her husband was arrested, and a deputy transported him to a detention center in Florence where he was booked on charges of sexual assault and threatening/intimidating his wife.
The man was eventually charged with six counts of sexual assault and one count of threatening/intimidating. The charges were dismissed Nov. 14, according to Chris Roll, chief civil deputy for the Pinal County Attorney’s Office.
Paperwork filed in Pinal County Superior Court shows the county attorney’s office motioned for the dismissal of charges. “Due to lack of victim credibility, there is currently no reasonable likelihood of conviction,” read the paperwork signed by Craig Raymond, deputy county attorney.
The internal affairs investigation is ongoing. Results of the investigation will be forwarded to the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, which could revoke Langan’s license to serve as a peace officer in Arizona.
Messages left at a home phone number listed in Langan’s personnel file went unreturned, and he could not be reached for comment.
www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=81875
