Kentucky State Police arrested a Murray police sergeant Wednesday after his department received allegations that he had sexually abused a teenager he met while on duty. The far western Kentucky agency said the officer resigned from his position with the Murray Police Department after his arrest.
KSP and MPD officials both say the city department asked the state agency to investigate after it received allegations of sexual abuse Tuesday against one of its sergeants, 44-year-old Justin Swope.
In a release, the state agency says Swope met the victim in 2018 – when she was just 15 years old – while he was on duty. KSP officials say the victim reported having multiple sexual encounters in Calloway and Trigg counties with Swope while she was underage. According to MPD social media posts, Swope was hired by the department in 2017 and was promoted to the rank of sergeant last year.
Swope is facing four counts of third-degree rape and two counts of third-degree sodomy. The charges are split between Calloway and Trigg counties.
MPD says it launched its own internal investigation into Swope on Tuesday after it received allegations of misconduct against him. However, Swope resigned before the investigation was completed.
