A Des Moines police officer's attempted sexual assault of a woman last week occurred in an industrial area about two miles from where the officer initially met the woman when responding to a call, police said on Monday.
Police said the officer removed none of his clothing, nor was any clothing removed from the woman during the incident.
Officer Maynard Richardson, 35, was arrested Friday on a charge of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse without causing injury and nonfelonious misconduct.
He is accused of attacking a 22-year-old woman in his patrol car while on duty and in uniform.
Police on Monday responded to requests for more information about the alleged assault and the officer's conduct:
• A recording of the woman's 911 call to police that was placed about 6:40 a.m. Friday was made public. In that call, the woman tearfully reported that she had been assaulted by a police officer. She identified Richardson by name. She said that she had not been injured.
The woman asked to have a female officer sent to her location to file the report and said that she feared her name would be disclosed.
The Des Moines Register does not identify sexual assault victims without their consent.
• Richardson initially responded to a call about a fight at an apartment complex at 1414 E. Ninth St. at 3:10 a.m. Friday, police said. Richardson did not file a police report on the fight, however.
• Through the course of that call, Richardson came in contact with the woman. Police said the woman entered the officer's patrol car, but was not under arrest or placed in handcuffs. Police said that Richardson did not know the victim.
• The alleged assault came between 3:10 and 5 a.m. Friday near 1800 E. Euclid Ave. The area is warehouse district, west of the Interstate Highway 235 and Euclid interchange.
Criminal charges were filed Monday in Polk County District Court accusing Richardson, a patrolman since December 2008, of the two charges. His initial court appearance was set for 1 p.m. on Feb. 15.
The attempted sexual abuse charge is an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison.
The misconduct charge is a serious misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.
On Monday, Police Capt. Randy Dawson and Sgt. Lori Lavorato, the department's spokeswoman, declined to provide much more detail, saying that an internal investigation was continuing.
Police declined Monday to release a supplemental report to the initial report filed last week by police, even though police commonly provide a narrative outlining the circumstances of alleged crimes.
That narrative, among other things, could answer more specifically why the woman got in the patrol car, why police were called to the East Ninth Street location and what other people were involved in the initial incident.
"We are not going to get into what actions he took and what actions she took," Dawson said.
But Lavorato said that police investigators believe that what happened "was not consensual."
"We believe he forced himself on her," Lavorato said.
Asked for specifics about what Richardson is accused of doing, the officers said only that his verbal and physical actions brought investigators to the charge of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse.
Robert Rigg, director of the Drake University Criminal Defense Clinic, said the elements necessary for proving assault with intent to commit sexual abuse do not require a physical act, though that can be the case.
"This kind of charge is valid when there is an act that is taken to cause pain or injury or which is intended to result in physical contact that would be insulting or offensive coupled with the ability to do so," Rigg said.
As a result, Rigg said that any person who would touch a person or intended to touch a person in an insulting or offensive manner would be considered to have committed an assault.
Richardson, who is paid $52,166 a year, was placed on paid administrative leave pending the completion of the department's internal investigation.
Police on Friday announced Richardson's arrest. Police Chief Judy Bradshaw said the charges against Richardson should not be considered to tarnish the department's reputation in the community.
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