A police officer in western Pennsylvania is facing charges that he used his position to have unwanted sexual contact with a woman, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Wednesday.
The incident in which Dustin Devault, 47, is accused happened while he served as an officer in Monongahela, officials said. He now works as a part-time officer with the Forward Township Police Department and as a police officer for Highmark.
Authorities said the sexual assault is alleged to have happened in a police vehicle while Devault was on duty.
Devault allegedly first met the woman in the summer of 2018 during a traffic stop, a grand jury found. The two met and texted several times afterward.
The woman told authorities it was her understanding that Devault was going to help her become a police officer and seek treatment for a loved one who was suffering from substance use, according to investigators.
On one occasion that the two met, Devault allegedly showed up in full uniform in an unmarked car. While in the car, the woman claims Devault inappropriately touched her several times and repeatedly asked her to have sex with him.
"When you are in that situation, you just freeze. You don't know what to do. He has a gun on him. He is a police officer. And I'm just a female. I just wanted to survive that moment," the woman said during her testimony to the grand jury.
The grand jury found Devault lied to his superiors in the Monongahela Police Department -- where he was removed from his position -- about his interactions with the woman and encouraged a co-worker to also lie.
Devault is charged with indecent assault, official oppression and obstructing the administration of law or other governmental functions.
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