Joseph Sumner Qualls, 27, a Pierce County sheriff's deputy, is being held on $200,000 bail for an alleged rape and burglary which took place back earlier this month. Qualls, a member of the force for about a year, is alleged to have had sexual intercourse with a drunk woman after giving her a courtesy ride, rides given to intoxicated passengers to prevent drunk driving.
According to probable cause documents filed in court, Qualls is alleged to have had sexual contact with the woman one other time while on duty. He walked into the woman’s home while she was asleep last Friday, grabbed her by the ankle and made her perform a sex act, according to the court documents.
Qualls showed up again at the woman’s home last Saturday, but she refused to let him in, according to the documents. Authorities said the deputy's account and the woman's account of what happened did not exactly match, but detectives were able to corroborate some parts of the woman's story.
The investigation, which is continuing, may lead to charges of custodial sexual misconduct, first-degree burglary and first-degree rape with firearms enhancements.
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No Rape Charges Against Accused Deputy
January 18, 2008 / KIRO 7 News
http://www.kirotv.com/news/15087272/detail.html
TACOMA, Wash. -- A Pierce County sheriff’s deputy who was accused of rape and burglary will face only a charge of criminal trespass, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Kevin McCarty has learned.
"My office is convinced this is the most serious charge we can file at this time," said Pierce County Deputy Prosecutor Mary Robnett.
Joseph Sumner Qualls, 27, pleaded not guilty Friday to the charge, a gross misdemeanor, and his bail was set at $10,000, McCarty said. The sheriff's office said Qualls is on administrative leave and will be fired.
Qualls was ordered held in jail on Wednesday on $200,000 bail. He was suspected of having sexual contact with an intoxicated woman after giving her a "courtesy ride" home earlier this month.
Authorities at the time said they were considering charges of custodial sexual misconduct, first-degree burglary and first-degree rape with firearms enhancements against Qualls, whose accuser said he visited her twice at her home.
The decision not to charge Qualls with rape came after it was revealed that his accuser, a 39-year-old Spanaway woman, made similar accusations in the past.
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News has learned the woman has filed allegations of rape against men in Pennsylvania and Washington at least four times before accusing Qualls of rape.
Each time the allegations were ruled unfounded.
The woman has been arrested and accused of rape herself. According to court records from Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, the woman was arrested in 1998 and accused of threatening and raping a 12-year-old boy she was babysitting. She pleaded guilty to a charge of indecent assault.
While awaiting trial on that charge, she was arrested for robbing and threatening an 88-year-old woman. She pleaded guilty to charges of theft.
In September, the woman allegedly became hysterical at the Puyallup Fair when a police officer arrested her and took her into custody for stealing.
According to court records, the woman was arrested for suspicion of theft and possession of marijuana.According to the police report, while in custody she “began screaming to passerby that she was being taken to be raped and several other incoherent statements.
”The report continued to say “based on her statements and behavior that she was under the influence of some type of controlled substance.”
Exactly one month later, the woman’s live-in boyfriend said the she had falsely accused him of sexual assault when he filed a petition for order of protection in Pierce County Superior Court.
In the affidavit he wrote, “She has accused me of rape falsely in 2006.” The man also claimed the woman assaulted him saying “she took a chair and tried to break it over my head.”
Authorities said Qualls, who has been on the force for about a year, admitted he had a consensual sexual relationship with the woman but maintains he did not rape her.
Qualls is expected to be released from jail Friday night.
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