Louisville, KY — Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer called allegations of sexual abuse and rape by police officers of children in the department’s Youth Explorer program “our worst nightmare” — and has now appealed to the FBI to open an investigation.
“If there has been an injustice,” asserted the mayor, “it will be remedied.”
A previous probe into the accusations by the Louisville Metro Police will also be subject to inquiry by former U.S. Attorney Kerry Harvey, whom Fischer hired to determine whether “errors were made” — including by top cop, Police Chief Steve Conrad.
“The allegations surrounding the Explorer program, if true, represent unacceptable conduct involving children, and the citizens of Louisville deserve to know what happened,” Harvey avowed.
Saying the FBI would have to determine whether or not to answer the call to investigate, Harvey surmised from news reports the allegations might constitute a federal violation of civil rights.
According to local NBC affiliate LEX18, “A lawsuit filed on behalf of a participant in the Youth Explorer program charges that his alleged rape by Officers Kenneth Betts and Brandon Wood was ‘concealed’ by department officials. Betts and Wood are accused of sexually assaulting the participant from 2011 through 2013 and recording the incidents to make pornography.”
David Yates, an attorney for the victim, noted the allegations — the now-22-year-old victim says officers used their position of authority to engage him in sexual acts when he was under the age of 18 — constitute third-degree statutory rape.
