Police officer pretends to be twin - accused of rape by force and fraud

Officer Jared Rohrig of the Orange, CT police department was charged with rape after allegedly tricking a woman who had a sexual relationship with his twin brother Joe into having sex. The woman found out it was her "boyfriend's" brother after she noticed that a tattoo on her "lover's" butt was missing from the man she was having sex with.

Rohrig, 25, of Flax Mill Lane, has been on paid administrative leave from his job since July 23, pending the outcome of an internal investigation, said Orange Police Chief Robert Gagne.

The unnamed woman told police July 22 that she was sexually assaulted July 19 at the Rohrig home, where she went to meet Joe Rohrig, Jared's identical twin. The woman had been having a sexual relationship with Joe Rohrig since March, and on July 19 she talked on the phone with someone she believed was him and agreed to meet at his house, according to a search warrant.
When she arrived, she got into the hot tub with the Rohrig brother she believed was Joe, began kissing him and agreed to go to an upstairs bedroom with him.

It was then that she had noticed that the cowboy tattoo on Joe's left buttocks were missing. According to the warrant, the woman "immediately began to cry and asked him where his tattoo went. The male replied that he had never had a tattoo and told her that she must have hooked up with his brother who had a tattoo. The female victim realized at this point that this was not the person that she had previously had sexual relations with."

After she tried to leave the bedroom, Jared threw her back on, and "grabbed her arms and threw her on the bed, where she continued to cry," while Jared continued to have sex with her.

When the woman told Jared Rohrig to get off her, he allegedly put a pillow over her face, and while it did not prevent her from breathing, she felt "scared and claustrophobic," according to the warrant.

Her attempts to push him off were unsuccessful "because he was too strong and she gave up," the warrant states. Later, the man -- still claiming to be Joe Rohrig -- drove the woman home in Jared Rohrig's pickup truck, but could not find the way, even though Joe had previously visited there several times, she told police.

"The female victim looked at the male and asked, 'When did you think I was going to find out? When I realized you didn't have a tattoo? When we didn't use Joe's car to drive home? Or when you didn't know how to get to my house because you've never been there?"

Jared claimed to have said his brother, the woman's "boyfriend," "told me to go for it." The victim recieved a text message from Joe's phone stating "I want to apologize for what my brother did last night. I had no idea what was going on until this morning."

A graduate of Jonathan Law High School, Rohrig is the son of Joanne Rohrig, a Republican member of the Board of Education, and the family owns Lasses Restaurant and catering in Milford.

A separate investigation into anonymous allegations that adults served alcohol to minors at a July 12 graduation party at the Rohrig residence has determined those charges to be "unfounded," said Milford Police Chief Keith Mello.

There was no evidence substantiating the claims, Mello said, adding that investigation showed "the family went to significant steps" to avoid giving minors access to alcohol at the party.

According to Gagne, Jared Rohrig is still in the 18 month probationary period given to all new police officers, having been hired July 11, 2008. He was released on $50,000 bond Friday, August 21, charged with 1st degree sexual assault and criminal impersonation. His preliminary hearing will be September 8 in Milford Superior Court.