June 2024
A roundup of police predators
Welcome to Police Predators, a side project that documents child sexual abuse by law enforcement officers. Every month, I’ll be doing a roundup of all the stories I could find about cops that were charged with, convicted of, and/or sentenced for their crimes against minors.
Daniel Horne, a former Kingsport, Tennessee police officer, resigned from his job after an investigation into him was opened. Horne allegedly sent inappropriate photos to a minor while in uniform. Original story here.
Dakota Dorn, a former Spooner, Wisconsin police officer, was charged with crimes relating to an alleged relationship with a minor. Dorn resigned following the initial investigation in 2022. Original story here.
An unnamed sergeant in the Clark County, Wisconsin sheriff's department was arrested and charged in connection with sexual exploitation of a child. Original story here.
Herbert Monterroso, a former NYPD officer, pleaded guilty to possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child and promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child under the age of 17. Original story here.
Christopher Cordes, a Tamaqua, Pennsylvania police officer, was arrested and charged with crimes related to possession of child sexual abuse materials and bestiality. Cordes allegedly admitted to being a pedophile in online communications and shared media of himself sexually abusing animals. Original story here.
Mark Anthony Fernandez, a Bartow, Florida police officer, was arrested and charged with battery by strangulation, illegal use of a two-way communication device, providing alcoholic beverages to a person under 21 years of age, promotion of a juvenile in a sexual performance, use of a juvenile in a sexual performance, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Fernandez allegedly supplied drugs to minors and filmed them performing sex acts on each other. Original story here.
Christos Rallis, a corrections officer in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged with possession of child sexual abuse materials, disseminating photo or film of child sex acts, and conspiracy to commit criminal use of a communication facility. Rallis allegedly shared images of child sexual abuse on the chat app Kik. He is also a former San Francisco Police Department officer. Original story here.
Christina Garza, a former Jefferson City, Missouri police officer, was arrested and charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, creating substantial risk, and failure of a mandated reporter to report child abuse of a child under 18. Garza allegedly refused to report sexual abuse against her step-child by the child's father because he owed Garza money. She also allegedly said she wouldn't report the abuse until "the divorce was finalized." Garza allowed the child to remain at home with the alleged abuser and told the victim she "didn't think he meant to harm you in any way. He was drunk, or I don't think he intentionally did it. You'll be okay." Police officers are legally required to report any incidents of child sexual abuse. Original story here.
Sean Essex, a former Los Angeles, California sheriff's deputy, was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading no contest to sexually abusing four girls between the ages of 4 and 13. He will also have to register as a sex offender and pay restitution to the victims. Three of the victims were siblings whose mother was in a relationship with Essex. One of the charges stems from a 2006 case in which he was accused of sexually abusing a minor. Prosecutors declined to file charges at that time. The LASD fired him following the initial criminal investigation in 2018, but the Civil Service Commission ordered him to be reinstated. Once Essex was charged with over 30 counts of sex crimes, he was fired again. Original story here.
Christopher Bauer, a former FBI agent and Alabama State Trooper, was found guilty of sodomy in the first degree and sexual abuse of a child less than 12 for molesting a child for six years. Bauer was fired from his position at an FBI field office after being accused of raping a coworker at knifepoint. His coworker filed a restraining order against him, but no further action was taken at that time. The Alabama State Police did not find these allegations when Bauer applied to work for them, and he forged a letter from the FBI stating he was eligible to be rehired. Original story here.
Timothy Barber, a former South Bend, Indiana police officer, pleaded guilty to child seduction and official misconduct. He faced up to 19 years in prison, but saw no jail time. Instead, Barber was given a deal wherein four other charges were dropped in exchange for a guilty plea that resulted in just 10 years of registration as a sex offender and probation. The entire story is a travesty from top to bottom. So many people failed the victim, from the police department who promised to fire Barber but let him resign to the judge who openly opined about what a good man he thought the officer was and his own history of alleged misconduct on the bench. The story is bewildering, angering, and indicative of how truly broken the criminal justice system is. I highly encourage everyone to read the in-depth story the Washington Post did on this monster and the systemic issues that let him off essentially scot-free, with Barber saying, "This has been good for me. I know that people don’t want to hear that. They want to know that I’m going through pain or torture, probably. But I’m very happy, and I’m very fortunate." It was only because this story was written that Barber is now being decertified as a peace officer in Indiana; otherwise, he would have been able to work as a police officer in the future.
Updates
Telvin Tydray Wilson had his hearing scheduled for online solicitation of a minor for sexual contact. Wilson faces 2 to 10 years in prison.
Martice Porter was fired from the Niagara Falls Police Department.
David Boen was arrested and charged with sexually abusing another child in 2015.
The Washington Post did a great investigative piece on child sexual abuse by the police and how rarely officers are punished. About 40% of convicted officers never see prison time.
You can find all my previous roundups below.
