(The AEGIS Alliance) – PORT BARRE, LOUISIANA – A Louisiana police officer with the Port Barre police is facing a rape charge after accusations from a woman that during a traffic stop he offered her leniency in exchange for engaging in sexual activity with her.
21-year-old Darwin Fontenot from Port Barre confessed to engaging in sex with the woman, a release by the police department described the incident that happened in March. Officers charged Fontenot with third-degree rape and malfeasance. The charges relate to Fontenot having sexual activity between an authority figure and a person in law enforcement custody.
Port Barre Police Chief Deon Boudreaux gave a statement and said, “The public holds law enforcement to a high standard and so do I.”
“Whether the sexual interaction was consensual or not doesn’t justify it. I will not tolerate such unprofessional behavior from our police officers.”
Fontenot posted bond last Saturday and was released from jail. According to Boudreaux, officer Fontenot was placed on “administrative leave until termination,” which is another term for paid vacation leave until fired.
There was a complaint report on April 27 made by a woman from Chalmette who accused Fontenot of forcing her into having sex with him after a traffic stop for speeding on March 10 on the U.S. 90 highway.
The St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Department will be conducting an investigation according to Sheriff Bobby Guidroz, after being asked to, by police chief Boudreaux. Guidroz has referred all questions over to Boudreaux.
The woman victim had other violations with the law, and that’s why Fontenot gave her the offer of leniency in exchange for sex with him. The woman said she did engage in sexual activity with officer Fontenot.
Fontenot admitted to having sex with the woman during an investigative interview with the sheriff’s department following the complaint, Boudreaux learned on Friday.
Boudreaux wrote in an email on Saturday that, “When I spoke to Fontenot this morning, he admitted he did engage in sexual activity with the complainant, but stated the two met up after he was off duty.”
“Even if he was off duty, it doesn’t make it right. An officer, nor any public servant, should engage in that type of activity of exchanging sexual favors for leniency.”
Before Darwin Fontenot began working for the Port Barre police, he was a corrections officer for St. Landry. Fontenot graduated the police academy in November 2019 and has been with the Port Barre Police Department for about a year and a half.
Boudreaux stated that “It’s a sad day when we have to arrest one of our own, but wrong is wrong.”
“Police officers are trusted with great power and responsibility to do what is right and to be the wedge between right and wrong. That trust is tarnished when officers are unprofessional.”
Kyle James Lee – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
