Post by abbey1227 on Jul 21, 2021 12:16:59 GMT
Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.
McMinn County detective punished for taking teen rape victim for abortion in county car
Ben Benton, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn. Tue, July 20, 2021, 4:01 PM
Jul. 20—A 24-year veteran detective in McMinn County, Tennessee, was suspended for three days without pay after taking an alleged teenage rape victim out of town in a county car to get an abortion.
Sheriff Joe Guy called the trip an "error in procedure" and said longtime sheriff's Detective Greg Earps had the permission of the 17-year-old's parents to take her to Knoxville for the procedure in his effort to get DNA evidence for the case.
But the way it happened violates departmental policies, said Guy, who learned of the trip the next day.
According to a statement issued Friday by Guy, Earps was investigating the alleged rape case in March in which evidence indicated the incident resulted in pregnancy.
During the course of the investigation, the teen told her parents and Earps she wanted an abortion and with the consent of the juvenile's parents, "Earps offered to provide transportation to the [medical] procedure with the intent of collecting DNA evidence that could possibly be used to prosecute the offender," according to the statement.
The trip was made on March 25. The procedure took place, and the evidence was collected.
"Unfortunately, Detective Earps made an error in judgment and policy," Guy said in the statement. "According to our policy, an officer should clear a transport of a juvenile through a supervisor, which Detective Earps failed to do, even though he had the parents' permission. Second, en route to the procedure, the victim disclosed that the crime had occurred in the city of Athens and could have been referred to the Athens Police Department, but since a search warrant had already been obtained, Earps continued with the evidence collection. Third, I am morally opposed to abortion, and those convictions would not allow me to be party in any way to such a procedure."
Guy said Tuesday that Earps "should have consulted with a supervisor before agreeing to the transport."
"We have jurisdiction, but I would have preferred he turn it over," Guy said Tuesday of the sheriff's office's authority.
Otherwise, Earps crossed no criminal lines, Guy said, but his error was addressed March 29, records show.
Earps was suspended for three days without pay, ordered to undergo review training on ethics and sex abuse case management and, upon his request, was transferred to property crimes investigations, according to a disciplinary counseling/reprimand form obtained by the Times Free Press and signed by Earps on March 29.
McMinn County detective punished for taking teen rape victim for abortion in county car
Ben Benton, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn. Tue, July 20, 2021, 4:01 PM
Jul. 20—A 24-year veteran detective in McMinn County, Tennessee, was suspended for three days without pay after taking an alleged teenage rape victim out of town in a county car to get an abortion.
Sheriff Joe Guy called the trip an "error in procedure" and said longtime sheriff's Detective Greg Earps had the permission of the 17-year-old's parents to take her to Knoxville for the procedure in his effort to get DNA evidence for the case.
But the way it happened violates departmental policies, said Guy, who learned of the trip the next day.
According to a statement issued Friday by Guy, Earps was investigating the alleged rape case in March in which evidence indicated the incident resulted in pregnancy.
During the course of the investigation, the teen told her parents and Earps she wanted an abortion and with the consent of the juvenile's parents, "Earps offered to provide transportation to the [medical] procedure with the intent of collecting DNA evidence that could possibly be used to prosecute the offender," according to the statement.
The trip was made on March 25. The procedure took place, and the evidence was collected.
"Unfortunately, Detective Earps made an error in judgment and policy," Guy said in the statement. "According to our policy, an officer should clear a transport of a juvenile through a supervisor, which Detective Earps failed to do, even though he had the parents' permission. Second, en route to the procedure, the victim disclosed that the crime had occurred in the city of Athens and could have been referred to the Athens Police Department, but since a search warrant had already been obtained, Earps continued with the evidence collection. Third, I am morally opposed to abortion, and those convictions would not allow me to be party in any way to such a procedure."
Guy said Tuesday that Earps "should have consulted with a supervisor before agreeing to the transport."
"We have jurisdiction, but I would have preferred he turn it over," Guy said Tuesday of the sheriff's office's authority.
Otherwise, Earps crossed no criminal lines, Guy said, but his error was addressed March 29, records show.
Earps was suspended for three days without pay, ordered to undergo review training on ethics and sex abuse case management and, upon his request, was transferred to property crimes investigations, according to a disciplinary counseling/reprimand form obtained by the Times Free Press and signed by Earps on March 29.
The policy violations were identified as failure to refer a case to proper jurisdiction, failure to notify the sheriff or chief deputy of a victim requesting a medical procedure, failure to log transport of a juvenile and failure to properly document evidence transfer.
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