[LA] Fired Deputy Schaeffer's victims have reason to fear

Video *here*

...Mutz said Monday that the ruling did little to ease her fears since the monitoring device has to be ordered. "I'm 100 percent terrified and devastated," she said. "To know that man is walking free to do whatever he deems necessary, it doesn't seem logical. It doesn't seem like our justice system would allow this."

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[LA] Lt. Schaeffer accused of dv, rape, sex assault by 3 women
...Schaeffer was just fired in October after Tracey Mutz, his ex-girlfriend, filed domestic violence charges on him. He's charged with aggravated rape and 2nd degree battery on her. Two other women are accusing him as well...

Ex-cop out on bail in rape case
But he must wear monitoring device
The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com, LA
By Victoria St. Martin
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
[Excerpts] Former St. John the Baptist Parish sheriff's Deputy Allan Wayne Schaeffer, who was indicted in January on charges of rape and battery, remains free on bail, but will be required to wear a monitoring device, a judge ruled Monday morning. While ruling in favor of state prosecutors who sought the electronic monitoring, state District Court Judge Mary Hotard Becnel postponed hearing the rest of the state's appeal on whether Schaeffer's $335,000 surety bond is valid... The hearing was postponed until March 5 after Schaeffer's attorney requested a continuance because of a conflict. The attorney, Tomy Acosta with the public defender's office, said he has some pending cases where Schaeffer was the investigator. Because Schaeffer is also a witness in those cases, the public defender's office filed a motion saying a new attorney will be assigned to the case... Sheriff's officials said Monday that they must order the monitor because the department does not have one. In addition, Becnel ordered Schaeffer to make a formal application to the public defender's office to explain why he's not able to afford an attorney... Schaeffer, a 16-year veteran, was jailed Jan. 14 after a state grand jury indicted him on charges of aggravated rape, second-degree battery and attempted sexual battery. Schaeffer has pleaded innocent to the charges... The appeal, filed Wednesday by Assistant Attorney General Ali Zito Shields, argues that Schaeffer did not show proof that the person who signed the surety bond is worth $335,000 or that she has property in the state as required by law. It says that he should be ordered back to jail if he fails to provide the documents. If he's allowed to remain out on bail, Shields requested that Schaeffer be made to wear a monitoring device, saying that he's a flight risk. Becnel granted the request for the electronic monitoring device, after Shields referenced a criminal code that requires any person indicted on an aggravated rape charge to have one as a condition of bail... "We are for the protection of any witness or victim in this case," Shields said. "I feel like today was a step in this process"... Schaeffer was fired from the St. John Sheriff's Office in October after a State Police investigation, which stemmed from a domestic dispute complaint filed by Tracey Mutz, a former girlfriend... Schaeffer is charged with one count of aggravated rape in a November 2005 incident, one count of second-degree battery in a May 2006 incident, and one count of attempted sexual battery in a February 2007 incident. As a condition of his bail, the court has issued a stay-away order for the complainants. Mutz said Monday that the ruling did little to ease her fears since the monitoring device has to be ordered. "I'm 100 percent terrified and devastated," she said. "To know that man is walking free to do whatever he deems necessary, it doesn't seem logical. It doesn't seem like our justice system would allow this"...

LAST WEEK:

Former deputy's bond release disputed
Prosecutor claims paperwork lacking
The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com, LA
By Victoria St. Martin
February 21, 2008
[Excerpts] ...The motion said Schaeffer, 47, posted 10 percent of his $335,000 bond and that a woman named Karyn N. Schaeffer signed an affidavit attesting to the fact that she was worth the amount of the bond. The documents don't show any other act of mortgage or security interest as required by law, according to the motion... The motion also says that during the State Police investigation, a woman told the attorney general's office that Schaeffer had introduced himself to her with a false name and claimed to be an Orleans Parish sheriff's officer. Prior to the indictment, Schaeffer told the woman he may go to jail for failing to give someone their Miranda warnings, according to the motion. Shields said the story is evidence that he should be monitored while out on bail...