Victims are being urged to come forward after a cop was caught drugging and raping a man eight times in one night.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters announced during a news release that a jury indicted Anthony Pecord, 48, on eight counts of rape and eight counts of sexual battery.
Pecord is accused of drugging his victim and raping him eight times during a single night. Though Pecord has since resigned from the department, he was still a sworn officer with the Loveland department of local government, while “administering an intoxicant to (the victim) surreptitiously” before repeatedly raping him on eight separate instances in a very night.
According to a report from WCPO:
WCPO examined Pecord’s personnel file after the initial charges were filed and located that the town of Loveland began investigating him the day following the alleged assault. In a Jan. 25 memo to Pecord, police captain Dennis Rahe put him on paid administrative leave and instructed him to stay available for questioning.
Pecord resigned a month later and turned himself in to authorities but per week afterward, on March 5. A judge held Pecord within the Hamilton County Justice Center on a $1 million bond, where he remained Monday.
The rapes happened on Jan 24 and after learning the small print of the offense, prosecutors indicated their concern “that more victims could also be out there.”
Pecord’s attorney, Stew Mathews, said he would, “be extremely surprised if there are other alleged victims.”
According to a Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office incident report, a statutory offense kit was completed at a hospital that very same night, meaning the victim must have recovered from the drugs and realized what happened.
“We take all cases of sex crime seriously,” Deters said in an exceedingly statement on Monday. “But when acts like this are committed by someone in an exceedingly position of power and charitable trust, it's especially sickening. Once this behavior was reported, the town of Loveland and therefore the Loveland department of local government cooperated fully with the investigation.”
WCPO has been changing their policy recently to chop down on the discharge of mugshots, however, they released the officer’s mugshot just in case it helps other victims identify their rapist.
Prosecutors asked anyone with information about other potential victims to contact Hamilton County Sheriff’s Detective Jack Losekamp at 513-595-7484.
According to Cincinnati.com, Pecord has been with the department for nearly a decade and he has several questionable entries in his record.
According to Pecord’s personnel file, he didn't complete training on working with victims of a sex offense and has been reprimanded quite once for using inappropriate language within the office and with the general public.
Multiple performance evaluations dating back to 2013 mention Pecord’s use of inappropriate language. A 2014 performance evaluation states Pecord received coaching sessions and a politician reprimand for inappropriate communications.
A citizen complaint investigation conducted in March 2014 found Pecord exhibited a “lack of professionalism” when handling a resident’s concern about a trespassing incident. The complainant told police Pecord was “pissed removed from the beginning” and “nasty” towards her, leaving her feeling “humiliated.”
Pecord now faces up to 88 years in prison if he's convicted on all charges, the prosecutor said. He remains behind bars at the Hamilton County Justice Center where he's being survived a $1 million bond.
Police sexual misconduct is one of America’s dirty little secrets. Barely on a daily basis goes by without news of an enforcement officer’s arrest for raping adults and kids alike.
It is a tragic day when law enforcement officials — those who claim to guard us — are caught preying on society. However, there are plenty of sad days as this example plays out sort of a broken record, over and once more. Luckily, this alleged monster was caught and is off the streets for now.
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