An Exeter police sergeant who advised the department's
Explorer post has been arrested on suspicion of having sex with a 17-year-old
girl in the youth training program.
Sgt. Jeff Detwiler, 46, pleaded not guilty at his
arraignment Wednesday and is behind bars on $75,000 bail. A judge set a
bail-reduction hearing for Tuesday and assigned the public defender to
represent him.
Detwiler faces charges of one count of unlawful sexual
intercourse with a person under 18, witness intimidation and possession of a
controlled substance.
But few details about the case are being revealed to protect
the victim's identity, Tulare County Assistant District Attorney Anthony Fultz
said.
The investigation started in May when police administrators
got a tip that Detwiler, a 10-year veteran of the department, was having sex
with an underage member of the Explorer program, Exeter police said.
He was put on administrative leave and police called the
Tulare County District Attorney's Office to investigate. Investigators took
Detwiler into custody about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Exeter police have launched an internal affairs
investigation into the allegations of wrongdoing.
The sexual misconduct allegedly took place in Exeter between
Oct. 25, 2011 and Oct. 24, 2012, according to charging documents. More counts
might be filed if additional information emerges at the preliminary hearing,
Fultz said.
The Explorer post, which started about 10 years ago,
introduces young people to law enforcement careers, Exeter Police Chief Cliff
Bush said. Trainees are usually high school students and get assigned to
traffic control at the annual World Ag Expo in Tulare and other duties, he
said.
They also get monthly training on law enforcement topics,
such as how to position a squad car on a traffic stop, he said.
The program is associated with the Boys Scouts of America,
and adults who advise Explorer scouts get training in procedures and rules
meant to prevent inappropriate relationships, said John Richers, CEO and Scout
executive for the Boy Scouts of America's Sequoia Council in Visalia.
Police departments that have Explorer posts may have
additional rules, he said.
Despite Detwiler's arrest, Bush said he does not anticipate
making major changes to the city's Explorer program.
"Sadly, it's not the first time" that an officer
at a police department has been accused of crossing the line with an Explorer
participant, Bush said. "The only common denominator is that they met at
the workplace and carried on after hours."
But those who work with Detwiler "feel let down,"
Bush said: "It tarnishes the others who have no involvement in it."