A Marion County police officer has resigned after allegedly using his power as a law enforcement officer to coerce a woman into having sex with him.
Marcus David Slauer, 27, of Fairmont, is charged with bribery.
The alleged victim told police that on April 22, Slauer, an officer with the Farmington Police Department, stopped her for speeding in the area at a traffic light in Farmington, according to a criminal complaint filed in Marion County Magistrate Court. The woman told him she was participating in a diversion program in South Carolina, in which she faced one to five years in jail if she broke any laws, the complaint says.
Slauer allegedly told her she had been speeding and her insurance certificate was expired, then "asked her to give him a good reason not to write her a bunch of tickets," the complaint says.
After offering the defendant "multiple items," the complaint says, the woman offered to show him her breasts.
Slauer and the woman then went back to the police station and had sex, according to the complaint. He never issued a citation to the woman, the complaint says.
Slauer and the woman were both interviewed on April 23. The officer allegedly admitted that the woman had shown him her breasts, that he had given her back her license, registration and insurance, and that he had told her they could go back to his office and talk. The complaint says does not say whether he admitted to further sexual activity.
Farmington Police Chief Andrew Schwartz said Slauer had been employed by the police department since late 2014 and resigned on the date of the incident, April 22.
He said Slauer had no history of infractions with the department.
Slauer was also an employee of the Marion County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff Joe Carpenter did not return a phone call, but Schwartz said Slauer had also resigned from that agency.
Schwartz said questions about the investigation should be directed to the State Police. State Police Sgt. John Wyatt, who filed the criminal complaint, was not in the office on Monday.
Farmington Mayor Donna Costello confirmed that Slauer no longer works for the town of Huntington. She responded to other questions by emphatically repeating that she had no further comment.
Slauer faces one to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. Lt. Michael Baylous, spokesman for the State Police, said because the alleged bribery was sexually motivated, Slauer might have to register as a sex offender if convicted.
The regional jails website did not list Slauer as an inmate at any of the jails Monday.
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.