A Cobb County grand jury has indicted a former cop on charges he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman while on duty.
The grand jury on Thursday indicted Andres Martinez Alcaraz on two counts each of sexual assault of an inmate or person in custody and making a false statement, five counts each of violation of oath of office and one count each of sodomy and false imprisonment.
Martinez was arrested and charged July 1 after a woman told a police officer in Smyrna that she was assaulted by an on-duty Cobb officer in May.
Police Chief Tim Cox held a press conference July 2 to address the arrest of a former officer stemming from the woman's claims. According to the chief, Alcaraz responded to a call around 12:30 a.m. May 17 of a suspicious person in the 2200 block of Benson Poole Road. The suspicious person turned out to be the woman Alcaraz is accused of assaulting.
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According to an arrest warrant, Alcaraz allegedly placed the woman into his Cobb police patrol car and drove her to the back of a building on South Cobb Drive where he assaulted her.
Channel 2 Action News reported Alcaraz returned to the area and sexually assaulted the woman a second time.
Cobb officers tried to interview the woman, who they described as having a “transient background,” about the allegations, but she refused and “disappeared,” Cox previously said. A few weeks later, however, Cox said the woman approached two Cobb cops who were working a traffic incident and repeated her story.
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Cobb detectives went back to the area where the woman was known to frequent and located her within about 24 hours. Cox said the woman was initially reluctant to talk to police, but provided “very credible” evidence.
The department then began criminal and internal affairs investigations into Alcaraz’s alleged actions, Cox said. He was placed on leave while the investigation continued. Alcaraz, who had been with the police department for four years, resigned from the agency June 30.
Cobb County Jail records show Alcaraz, 38, of Acworth, remains held without bail.
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