An Evansville Police Department officer recently under scrutiny from the agency's chief has turned himself in at the Vanderburgh County Jail and will face a charge of criminal deviate conduct.
Martin Montgomery, 28, was booked into jail shortly before 12:30 p.m. Bond was initially set at $2,500 cash but later lowered to $1,500 cash after Montgomery made an initial appearance in Vanderburgh County Circuit Court.
According to a police affidavit obtained by the Courier & Press, the charge stems from a sexual encounter Montgomery had with a woman while on duty. The victim told investigators it was non-consensual.
Montgomery was recommended for termination by Chief Brad Hill following an undisclosed violation of police rules and procedures that occurred June 16. A grand jury also considered criminal charges against Montgomery for that incident, though they ultimately voted not to file them.
While being questioned about the June 16 incident, police say Montgomery admitted a separate incident in which he had sex with a woman after being dispatched to a run in the 3900 block of Fulton Avenue. It allegedly occurred on March 1.
According to the affidavit, Montgomery in that case broke up a fight between two women and then agreed to take one of them home to a residence in the 2500 block of North Kentucky Avenue.
The investigator located the police run in question and learned Montgomery had responded and called off other officers, the affidavit said.
Detectives then located the woman, who identified Montgomery from a photo lineup and said he followed her into her apartment, shut the door and asked if she wanted to have sex, according to the affidavit.
Police say Montgomery asked multiple times and that the woman said no repeatedly.
"(The victim) said Montgomery approached her and put his hands on her shoulders and began applying pressure to her shoulders in an attempt to force her down," Detective Jim Harpenau wrote in the affidavit. "(The victim) said after Montgomery began pushing her down, she quit resisting, went to her knees and performed oral sex on Montgomery against her will."
According to Indiana Code, a criminal deviate conduct charge is filed when a person "knowingly or intentionally causes another person to perform or submit to deviate sexual conduct when the other person is compelled by force or imminent threat of force."
Asked why he filed a charge in this case and convened a grand jury for the other allegations, Vanderburgh County Prosecuting Attorney Stan Levco said "they are two separate sets of facts."
"I thought and I said at the time that the grand jury had a difficult case that I thought could go either way," he said.
Levco said he could not talk about the facts in the criminal deviate conduct case or why specifically he decided to file the charge.
The specifics of the June 16 incident have not been divulged. The affidavit refers to that case as a "sensitive incident ... in regards to the conduct of Evansville Police Officer Martin Montgomery."
Montgomery had been scheduled to appear Monday before the Merit Commission to appeal the chief's recommendation for termination. That hearing has since been canceled.
Montgomery made a brief court appearance Wednesday, during which his bond was lowered and his next appearance was set for Thursday at 9 a.m.
Levco said Montgomery's bond reflects his lack of a criminal record and the fact that he is not considered a flight risk.
An official at the Vanderburgh County Jail said Montgomery must appear in front of a judge before he can consider media requests for interviews.
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