SHERIFF'S DEPUTY INDICTED FOR FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS CRIMES

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, August 15, 2013

Pulaski County Sheriff’s Deputy Indicted for Federal Civil Rights Violation
U.S.  Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky David J. Hale and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels announced that Steven Molen, a Sheriff’s Deputy with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on one count of violating the civil rights of a victim by using excessive force in August 2008.

The indictment alleges that on Aug. 24, 2008, Molen assaulted a victim identified in the indictment as “C.F.,” resulting in bodily injury.
         
On June 27, 2013, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Kentucky indicted Molen on two other counts of violating the civil rights of different victims by using excessive force in 2009 and 2011.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI.  The cases against Molen will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Judd from the Western District of Kentucky, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Pat Molloy and Ron Walker from the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Trial Attorney Ali Ahmad from the Civil Rights Division.

The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

OFFICER CONVICTED OF CRIMIINAL CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:
Friday, March 30, 2012
West Memphis, Ark., Police Department Officer Convicted of Criminal Civil Rights Violation
WASHINGTON – A federal jury convicted West Memphis, Ark., Police Department (WMPD) Officer Scott McCall, 39, of West Memphis, Ark., of one misdemeanor count of Deprivation of Rights under Color of Law.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on June 14, 2010, McCall, while in the lobby of the WMPD, choked an arrestee who was handcuffed behind his back.   Two WMPD dispatchers physically removed McCall from the man he was choking.

“This officer pledged to protect and serve, not to abuse and victimize those who are in his custody,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.   “The Justice Department is committed to holding officers who engage in such conduct accountable.”

West Memphis Police Department Director of Internal Affairs Lester Ditto, 56, was also charged with three counts of witness tampering for his role in the same incident.   Ditto is scheduled to go to trial later this year.

A misdemeanor count of deprivation of rights under color of law carries a possible punishment of up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI.   The case was prosecuted by Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Trial Attorneys Chiraag Bains and Henry Leventis, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Peters from the Eastern District of Arkansas.

FORMER MISSOURI SHERIFF PLEADS GUILTY TO CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:

Wednesday, August 17, 2011
“WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today that Neal Wayne “Bear” Groom, former sheriff of the Worth County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office, pleaded guilty to depriving eight Missouri women of their civil rights by coercing the women to expose parts of their bodies to him, which was in violation of the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable seizures .
As part of the plea, Groom admitted that while he was sheriff of Worth County, he coerced the women into exposing unclothed parts of their bodies to him and that he photographed some of the women, which in some cases included their exposed breasts. Groom used the guise of checking the women for injuries or evidence of drug injections to coerce the women into revealing different parts of their bodies to him. By pleading guilty, Groom admitted that he invaded the personal privacy of the victims by coercing them to expose their breasts to him for no legitimate law enforcement purpose.
Groom faces a maximum punishment of 12 months in prison and a potential fine of up to $100,000 for each of the eight counts.
“Such egregious misconduct by those entrusted to uphold our laws will not be tolerated,” stated Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez. “The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously prosecute these cases.”
“Law enforcement officials are not above the law,” said U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri Beth Phillips. “When they abuse their authority by violating the civil rights of the citizens they are sworn to protect, they will be held accountable.”