A Metropolitan Police Department officer who has been with the department for two decades was arrested and charged with first-degree child sex abuse, officials said.
Lucius Kearney, of Waldorf, Maryland, lost his police powers, and he is “in a duty status that does not require him to interact with the public,” the MPD stated.
According to court documents filed in the D.C. Superior Court, Kearney first met the 15-year-old girl when she interviewed him for a 10th-grade history class assignment. He was 34 at the time.
The two exchanged numbers, and Kearney allegedly texted her sexual messages, later sexually abusing her three times between 2005 and 2006, court documents say.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
Years later, Kearney and the woman, then 29, had a chance encounter in March 2020 when she recognized him parked in front of her neighbor. His body camera captured the brief interaction.
“I know you,” she said, according to the court documents.
“Oh yeah. From where?” Kearney responded.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Minutes later, sitting in his patrol car, Kearney can be heard saying “How in the world did I [expletive] manage to do that?”
The woman later disclosed the abuse to her therapist, who reported it to the MPD.
After an investigation, Kearney was arrested and charged Dec. 6.
