Saturday, September 05, 2009

Former Officer Thomas Carey Accused of Demanding Sexual Favors

A former police office has been accused of using his position to do the unthinkable.

We've learned that Thomas Carey, a former Grand Haven police officer, is accused of demanding sexual favors before investigating citizen complaints.

Carey pleaded no contest Thursday to charges including gross indecency. Carey recently resigned from the force.

Newschannel 3 poured over court documents on Friday to find out exactly what Carey is accused of doing.

The accusations against Carey have shocked many. Court documents say that as a condition in furthering investigations for two women, Carey "did engage both women at different times in sexual activity, more specifically where the women would perform oral sex upon Mr. Carey."

"I was really surprised," said Sue Syverson, a former neighbor of Carey's. "I thought he had a good reputation in Grand Haven as far as he was always active in the torch run and Special Olympics and fund raising for a lot of different things."

Syverson was Carey's neighbor in the 1990s, at the time, Syverson says Carey lived with another Grand Haven police officer.

"They pretty much stuck to themselves, you'd see the police car come and go once in a while, but that was about it," said Syverson.

Carey's roommate at the time was Grand Haven police officer Scott Flahive, who was tragically shot in 1994. Newschannel 3 spoke to Carey not long after that shooting.

Flahive's death marked one of the darkest days in Grand Haven history, a day Dorothy Walker remembers well. Officer Flahive was her neighbor as well, and she recalls the sympathy she felt for Carey then, and can't believe what he's involved in now.

"Today was the first time I saw his name, it was in the paper," said Walker. "I'm sure there are a lot of kids here that looked up to Tom Carey, and you can't help but wonder how they feel now."

Carey will find out how the judge feels about his actions when he receives his sentence on November 2nd.

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