SAN DIEGO
The arraignment for a San Diego County sheriff's detective accused of forcibly fondling a prostitute in February was postponed Thursday because he has not yet hired an attorney. Thomas Sadler, 47, is likely waiting for word from the Deputy Sheriffs' Association, which was voting Thursday afternoon on whether to pay for his defense.
An arraignment has been rescheduled for Aug. 28.
Sadler appeared somber during his appearance in San Diego Superior Court Thursday, nearly one week after attempting to commit suicide following his July 31 arrest.
Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dort requested the judge increase Sadler's bail “due to the defendant planning not to be here today.” But Judge David Szumowski declined, leaving bail at $250,000.
Sadler, accompanied by a woman, remained silent and looked straight ahead as television cameras followed him onto the sidewalk of the courthouse and surrounded him after the proceedings. He eventually gave a slight nod of the head when asked if he was declining to comment.
A 20-year veteran of the department, Sadler is charged with sexual battery by restraint, assault and battery by an officer, false imprisonment, and two counts of accessing a computer to defraud.
He was arrested at the Santee home he shares with his wife after a six-month investigation by San Diego police. He was released from jail early the next morning after posting bail.
San Diego police said Sadler forced a self-admitted prostitute into his unmarked Ford Taurus in North Park while on duty the morning of Feb. 6 and drove her to a parking lot in Mission Valley.
He then forcibly groped her until three witnesses intervened and she escaped, said San Diego police acting Assistant Chief Jim Collins.
Authorities have said the deputy used a confidential computer system hours after the alleged incident to check whether his vehicle license plate was listed as wanted and for information about the location of the incident.
Sadler, who is assigned to the Lemon Grove station, is on unpaid leave pending the outcome of the case.
He faces up to six years and eight months in prison, if convicted.
According to a federal lawsuit, Sadler was accused of similar behavior while on duty in 2002.
Nicole Bowman, 34, claims he stopped her in a parking lot after leaving a Santee bar, pulled up her bra and looked down her pants during a search.
Bowman said she filed the lawsuit in 2003 only after getting nowhere with sheriff's Internal Affairs investigators. The county agreed to pay her $10,000 to settle the case a year later, according to documents.
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