Police Officer Charged with Raping 16 Year Old Homeless Girl Repeatedly While on Duty

LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS – Police Officer Kevin Garneau was arraigned on Thursday on two rape charges after allegedly sexually assaulting a homeless girl who was underage multiple times while he was on duty.

Officer Garneau, is a well-known bicycle patrol officer at the Lowell Police Department who is a 19-year veteran as an officer. He had been serving as a member of a community outreach program in 2016 when he came into contact with the victim who was 16 years old at that time.

The girl’s identity hasn’t been released. According to the Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan, she was living in a tent at the time in a Lowell area that was set up to give shelter to the town’s homeless population.

Kevin Garneau is originally from Pelham, New Hampshire. He allegedly went into the teen girl’s tent and falsely said to her that she had multiple warrants out for her arrest, but gave her a promise that he wouldn’t arrest her if she gave him “sexual services.”

The teen victim was raped by the officer, and reports say she was addicted to heroin. The officer raped her several more times in the following months after the initial assault, said the district attorney.

The Lowell Police Department stated it found out about these disturbing allegations in January 2019 and an internal investigation was swiftly launched.

According to a statement, The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office was notified by the Lowell PD of what it found in May 2019. Officer Garneau has been placed on unpaid administrative leave pending the verdict of criminal trial proceedings.

“I’m astonished and deeply disappointed,” said Raymond Kelly Richardson regarding the case, who is a Superintendent of Police. “I acted as soon as we were made aware of these allegations.”

“This is not what the men and women of the Lowell PD represent,” he mentioned. “They police legally, respectfully, and compassionately.”

However, Clerk Magistrate Daniel Flaherty released Garneau by giving the reason of personal recognizance. Garneau was then ordered to be required to wear a GPS monitoring device and not go anywhere near the victim.

It is scheduled for Officer Garneau to reappear in court on July 23.

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