On-duty officer accused of sexually assaulting woman
(1/20/06 - KTRK/PATTON VILLAGE, TX) - Sworn to serve and protect, a police officer could now lose his badge over what allegedly happened when he pulled over a woman for a routine traffic stop. The Patton Village police officer was on duty Thursday night when a woman says he sexually assaulted her
Vernon Ray Allison, Jr., 33, was arrested Friday and booked into the Montgomery County jail. Allison faces two felony charges and the possibility of losing his badge.
The Texas Rangers believe an on-duty Patton Village police officer sexually assaulted a woman in a remote area in Montgomery County. Patton Village Police Chief Joe Schultea, Jr. learned about the allegations from an early morning phone call.
"At first I thought it might have been one of my officers had been injured or died out here," he recalled. "That's the kind of call you get from the Rangers in the middle of the night."
Soon Chief Schultea found out one of his own was in trouble, but not for what he thought.
"It's a bad case either way," Chief Schultea said. "This is definitely an evil. I'm not happy about these allegations."
Investigators told the chief the officer pulled a woman over, asked her to follow him to a remote location and assaulted her. According to the spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety, a Montgomery County Sheriff's officer was pulling up just as the assault was ending. That's when he called in the Texas Rangers.
Now an officer the chief hand-picked faces serious felony charges.
"If the evidence in this case points toward proving the information that we received, I don't have a problem walking up there and locking the door on him myself," Chief Schultea told Eyewitness News.
Allison is charged with sexual assault and official oppression. He's also been suspended from the police department. The chief is considering recommending to the city council that Allison be terminated. ***becareful how you act just becasue the boss likes you****