A disgraced police officer in Arizona was arrested on charges of sexually exploiting a minor only two days after he was arrested on charges of domestic violence.
The most disturbing part? Apparently the minor is his own biological child.
Phoenix police officer Richard Tucker was taken into custody on Nov. 4 for a domestic abuse spat after his wife accused him of choking her, according to ABC 15.
Court documents say Tucker got into an argument with his ex-wife the night before related to a child-custody issue. When his current wife tried to wake him up the next morning to talk with an attorney, Tucker allegedly grabbed her from behind and put his arm around her neck restricting her breathing.
Tucker, 47, was then released only to get arrested again on Nov. 6.
Court documents revealed that when Tucker was arrested, his wife was upset and began gathering his belongings. A box fell onto the ground and pictures spilled out onto the floor.
The pictures were of a then three-year-old girl either naked or with no pants on in various poses, documents said.
The wife first contacted a neighbor then turned the pictures over to Family Advocacy Center, who contacted authorities. Documents say the pictures were taken between July and October 2006.
A search warrant was granted and later more photos of the girl were found on Tucker’s cellphone, including a 2014 photo of him and the girl, who was 12 at the time, standing in a bathroom.
In that photo, the girl was naked, according to the Phoenix New Times.
His cell phone also had pictures from 2014 in which he and the minor — who was 12 at the time — stood together in a bathroom. Court documents state that “[she] had no clothes on and her face was painted white with an unknown substance. Next to her was Richard Tucker, and he was wearing no shirt but his waist was not visible to know if he was clothed below the waistline.”
When police interviewed the girl, she confirmed that Tucker had taken the photographs.
The New Times also posted disturbing excerpts from the police reports describing the photos.
Police also found a journal the Phoenix cop maintained where he described the breasts of female victims he encountered through his law enforcement work.
Tucker, who was hired by the Phoenix Police Department just over a year ago, was a deputy with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office for five years before resigning in June 2014, where he is now listed as “non re-hirable,” according to ABC 15.
PCSO labeled his file as non-re-hirable, questioning his integrity after he just stopped showing up to work and lying about his reason for not coming in.
Pinal County Sheriff’s officials say Tucker was on a performance review plan while he was employed.
He was cited for various policy violations:
-Driving too fast
-Running a red light almost causing an accident
-Failing to impound evidence
-Not reporting to work on time
-Carrying an unauthorized backup weapon
-Not searching a prisoner
Phoenix police say they did not bother reading through his personnel file at his previous job before hiring him, even though those records are public record.
Following Tucker’s second arrest in three days, the girl was interviewed and he now faces eight counts of exploitation of a minor. It seems that the abuse has been happening since she was 3-years-old.
Tucker was also described as “a danger to the community,” “a flight risk” and someone who violated his “position of trust in the community.”
A $250,000 bail was held for Tucker. He will only be released contingent to him wearing a monitor device and have no contact with any minors or the internet. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Nov. 17.
He remains on paid administrative leave from the Phoenix Police Department.
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