Sexual Relationship With A Minor, Theft Of Services And Destruction Of Evidence Nets Police Officer One-Year Prison Sentence

Tech Dirt – by Tim Cushing

There are multiple levels of effed-upness in this story but we’ll start from the top.

Cincinnati police officer Darrell Beavers appears to have used his power and position to effect and perpetuate a sexual relationship with a minor. This went far beyond simply relying on the innate “trustworthiness” of the position.

Beavers, a Cincinnati police officer since 2002, set up a scheme, using his job as a police officer as bait, to send and receive 650 sexually explicit photos and texts with a minor and destroying an incriminating [police] cell phone once he knew he was being investigated.  

Add to this the use of his position to coerce a local landlord into handing him over an apartment to use for his sexual trysts — free of charge — by claiming he was setting up a department “substation” to “fight crime in the area.”

Once Beavers, 45, had the apartment, it was adorned with an official Cincinnati Police logo as well as beds, bedding, personal lubricants, pornographic videos and a police-owned night-vision camera to record events that were happening in the dark.

Beavers is now an ex-officer and has been sentenced to prison. Thanks to a friendly plea deal and a recent law change, he will be facing a maximum of one year behind bars. That seems awfully low considering Beavers committed a sexual offense, destroyed evidence and falsely procured an apartment to be used solely to commit illegal acts with a minor.

But that’s not the only thing screwed up about this. Cue Beavers’ attorney, Carl Lewis:

Beavers’ attorney, Carl Lewis, believed the incident was a one-time “lapse of judgment” of an otherwise upstanding, respected police officer, husband, father of three and football and basketball coach.

“He said if this same activity had occurred with his daughter with another police officer, he would be angry, he would be upset,” Lewis said of Beavers.

No. A “one-time lapse of judgment” is having sex with an underage person by accident (or possibly on purpose) ONE TIME, and then NEVER DOING IT AGAIN. It is not stealing an apartment to use as a sex pad, sending and receiving 650 texts/photos over a period of three months, and then destroying evidence when investigators start closing in.

All the follow-up comment about Beavers being “upset” means is that his moral compass is as flexible as anybody’s. Double standards are distressingly common. They are not, however, indicators of latent “goodness.”

On to the next level of effed-upness.

A theft in office charge that would have resulted in Beavers losing any police pension was dropped as part of the plea deal.

Beavers will do some time, most likely return to his current employer (an oil pipeline) and his $70,000 salary, and still draw a pension when he hits retirement age.

Even more layers:

Beavers also fears the humiliation of being labeled a sexual predator, having to report his address for the next 15 years to the sheriff in the county where he will live.

Well, gee, former Officer Beavers. That sucks. But that’s what the system requires of other sex offenders, including the ones that don’t have access to favorable plea bargains and a taxpayer-funded pension to fall back on. Don’t forget, the list of sexual predators also tends to include teens who had consensual sex [statutory rape] and teens who passed around sexual photos of other teens [sexting] — teens who begin their trip through the “justice system” accompanied by officers like yourself. So, try to keep that chin up, Darrell.

And there’s still more. This wasn’t the only so-called “substation” under police officer control.

[Detective] Schofield noted police also found a previous fake substation in West Price Hill and wanted to ask Beavers about it but he refused.

“It was their belief,” Lewis said of police investigators, “that there are other Cincinnati police officers (who) have used, were using the so-called substations for other activity other than police work.”

So, there will be more indictments in the future?

Cincinnati said they aren’t investigating possible involvement by other officers.

Apparently, one officer being (minimally) punished is enough. Everything else can simply be ignored, for morale’s sake… or whatever. It wouldn’t do to have the Cincinnati PD portrayed by the media as a bunch of amoral jerks strong-arming landlords into providing them with rent-free crash pads from which to pursue their illicit aims.

By all other accounts, Beavers appeared to be an exemplary officer. But he used his position totake advantage of a 17-year-old member of the Cincinnati Police Explorer program. Even if the sexual contact was consensual, it was still illegal. Everything else he did — destroy evidence, commandeer an apartment — was far outside any legal or moral gray area. In the end, he’ll serve less than a year and enjoy a full pension. Other officers who may have abused their power or simply looked away while Beavers took advantage of his will emerge from this incident unscathed. And if they aren’t held accountable, there will be no reason for them to alter future behavior.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20141106/15414829070/sexual-relationship-with-minor-theft-services-destruction-evidence-nets-police-officer-one-year-prison-sentence.shtml