[PA] Victim of Philadelphia police Officer Tyrone Wiggins: "I want to tell anyone who is a potential victim to come forward..."

After an internal investigation that allegedly took the Internal Affairs department TWO YEARS, Philadelphia police Officer Tyrone Wiggins was allowed to resign one day before he was arrested, which protects his pension.

Prosecutors said Wiggins targeted the victim when she was 10 and spent two years ingratiating himself with her family... Wiggins denied the charge and insisted that all he ever was to the young woman was a mentor, godfather and karate instructor... After he'd become like a "godfather" to the victim and her brother, the victim told jurors that Wiggins showed her a pornographic video then "exposed himself and had her perform a sex act on him"... [His attorney, Scott] Sigman said Wiggins was like a father to the woman...


Victim of Officer Wiggins, who herself is now a Philadelphia police officer:
"I want to tell anyone who is a potential victim to come forward. There is hope, and there is someone who will believe you."

VIDEO:

...Ex-Philadelphia police officer Tyrone Wiggins was found guilty of sexually abusing a girl for six years... How in the world would the Philadelphia Police Department not know something was going on? And, why in the world would they wait nearly 3 years after hearing of the allegations to fire him? Why was Wiggins arrested the day after he retired? Even worse, Wiggins was allowed to work at a recreational center until a week before being arrested!... He ended his 23-year police career by retiring on Nov. 18, 2009, one day before his arrest. The department's Internal Affairs Bureau had been investigating the woman's allegations for two years... A Philadelphia police officer dabbed her eyes and withstood the urge to break down while telling a jury of how her childhood was polluted by a city police officer who forced her to engage in sex acts for more than eight years... the man who she says repeatedly raped and assaulted her over the span of eight years. That woman is now a 25-year-old city police officer...

VIDEO:

Prosecutors said Wiggins targeted the victim when she was 10 and spent two years ingratiating himself with her family... Wiggins denied the charge and insisted that all he ever was to the young woman was a mentor, godfather and karate instructor... After he'd become like a "godfather" to the victim and her brother, the victim told jurors that Wiggins showed her a pornographic video then "exposed himself and had her perform a sex act on him"... [His attorney, Scott] Sigman said Wiggins was like a father to the woman... She told the jury that Wiggins, a master teacher known as a "sensei," began raping her at age 12 and did not stop until she was a young adult... That little girl is now a 25-year-old Philadelphia Police officer... "He showed me a porno [video] in his living room," the woman said under questioning by Assistant District Attorney Mark Cipolletti, on the first day of Wiggins' rape trial. "He asked me did I like what I saw. I didn't say anything," she said, sobbing... Wiggins, who retired from the department one day before his November 2009 arrest, showed no reaction to the verdict, nor did his wife. However, the victim, now 25 and a Philadelphia police officer, began crying as soon as the first guilty sounded. By the end, her shoulders shook. Wiggins faces up to 40 years in prison... [His attorney, Scott] Sigman told the jury that Wiggins was a good husband to his wife of 24 years, a good father to his daughter and three sons, and a hero police officer who took a bullet in the line of duty in 1994. He said that no DNA evidence or witnesses exist to support the woman's rape claims and that any physical injuries she suffered were the result of her participating in karate with Wiggins, not from his beating her... Common Pleas Judge Sandy L.V. Byrd revoked Wiggins' bail and ordered him jailed until sentencing on March 25...

Prosecutor:
"He abused the trust of the badge. He abused and betrayed his fellow officers and, most importantly, he groomed a girl from a very young age and betrayed her trust. Now, finally, he is being punished for what he did."

News excerpts are from Dec. 2009 through this month's conviction:

RETIRED PHILLY COP CHARGED WITH RAPING GIRL FOR YEARS: Man began as girl's karate instructor and allegedly became her attacker over a span of eight years
Philadelphia Daily News
By Vince Lattanzio
Dec 23, 2009
[Excerpts] Allegations of rape, physical and psychological abuse and now a police cover up have been raised against the case involving a former Philadelphia cop. Tyrone Wiggins faces charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and statutory sexual assault for allegedly abusing a girl over an eight-year period. The 50-year-old former Philly police officer and karate instructor met the girl in 1995 at the Olney Recreation Center - where he operates a karate academy. Two years later, the girl says Wiggins drove her to Fairmount Park and demanded oral sex... The girl, who's now 24-years-old, alleges that first encounter grew into eight years of sexual assault and abuse. Court documents say the girl was forced to perform oral sex, was anally raped and physically beaten. In 2005, the then 20-year-old told police Wiggins began to punch her, court documents said. She finally came forward to Internal Affairs investigators after a co-worker found out about the attacks. "The allegation was made in '06, it went to the D.A. in '07 and an arrest was made a few weeks ago," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said Tuesday. Wiggins was arrested in November, a day after he retired from the police force... The alleged victim apparently joined the police force after telling her story to investigators... After his arrest, the man continued to operate his karate classes at the Olney center, because the police department failed to notify the city recreation department... The department faced allegations of a cover up after they failed to notify the press about Wiggins' arrest... "It's my mistake not getting it out in a press release," Ramsey said. "There was no effort to hide it in any way."... [Full article here]

COP CHARGED WITH REPEATEDLY RAPING GIRL
myfoxphilly.com
December 23, 2009
[Excerpts] A retired Philadelphia police officer is charged with repeatedly raping a young girl. According to detectives, 50-year-old Tyrone Wiggins raped the girl over the course of eight years, starting when she was 12... Due to what the police department calls an 'oversight,’ Wiggins remained as a volunteer at the Olney Rec Center, where he met his alleged victim, until last week. [Full article here]

PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT NEEDS FACELIFT AFTER FRANK TEPPER AND TYRONE WIGGINS INCIDENTS
Philly2Philly
By Dennis Bakay
January 6, 2010
[Excerpts] The Philadelphia Police Department has itself in a public relations quandry. One of the stories got swept under the rug and the media should be ashamed for not putting on the full court press... Let's turn to the first story, which is receiving very little media attention, which involves one Tyrone Wiggins. This is an officer who has recently been charged for sexual crimes of a horrific nature, which took place over an 8-year period. What is an absolute disgrace is that this officer wasn't arrested until the day after he retired from the police force. Tell me this doesn't stink of impropriety. How in the world would the Philadelphia Police Department not know something was going on? And, why in the world would they wait nearly 3 years after hearing of the allegations to fire him? Why was Wiggins arrested the day after he retired? Even worse, Wiggins was allowed to work at a recreational center until a week before being arrested! The Phila PD claims this was an "oversight." And, mind you this is the recreational center where Wiggins met the young woman 8 years ago!... This is speculation on my part, but it would stand to reason the police department knew it was going on for quite some time and didn't want to deal with the embarrassment and humiliation of having to arrest one of it's own rank and file for such a horrific crime. Charles Ramsey claimed that the matter was brought to their attention in '06, it went to the D.A. in '07 and he was finally arrested recently. So, basically they waited until the problem in the form of Tyrone Wiggins retired. There should be a full investigation into the entire department from the top on down by the Feds. This isn't just embarrassing; it's outrageous and criminal. The Phila PD enabled this rapist to continue his crimes while they "investigated"... [Full article here]

PHILLY OFFICER DERIC LEWIS FACES CHARGES
The Philadelphia Tribune
Written by Larry Miller
Tuesday, 30 November 2010 16:26
FACEBOOK:
[Excerpts] ...In an unrelated criminal investigation involving a Philadelphia police officer, jury selection began Monday in the case of an alleging an officer had raped her when she was 12-years-old. Former Officer Tyrone Wiggins is charged with rape, statutory rape and related offenses in a case of sexual assaults against a child that continued into adulthood. According to reports, the victim met Wiggins at the Olney Recreation Center where he instructed students in the martial art of karate. After slowly gaining the victim’s trust, Wiggins allegedly began a series of sexual assaults that continued for eight years. In 2007 the victim reported the crimes to the police and after a lengthy investigation that took 2-years by the Philadelphia district attorney, Wiggins, was arrested in November 2009. “I’ve asked for a thorough investigation into this,” said City Councilwoman Marian Tasco in a previous interview. The alleged crimes happened in Tasco’s district and she said she was very concerned that Wiggins wasn’t removed from the force immediately. “Wiggins should have been removed from the center immediately and it’s still not known what other incidents there were or could be in the future... Wiggins should not have been around any children.” [Full article here]

CITY COP TO TESTIFY AGAINST FORMER COP IN RAPE CASE
Philadelphia Daily News
By Mensah M. Dean
Nov. 30, 2010
[Excerpts] A Philadelphia woman has waited since she was 12 to face in court the man who she says repeatedly raped and assaulted her over the span of eight years. That woman is now a 25-year-old city police officer, the same job Tyrone Wiggins - her alleged rapist - held during the years of his alleged crimes. This morning, Wiggins, 51, is to stand trial in Common Pleas Court on charges of rape, corruption of a minor, aggravated indecent assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and related counts... The investigation was launched when the woman told authorities how Wiggins had befriended her family when she was 10 and she began taking karate lessons from him at the Olney Recreation Center. She told of how - when she was 12 - Wiggins allegedly began raping her regularly at the recreation center, at her home, at his house on Chew Avenue near Front Street, in hotels and in his van in Fairmount Park. She told of how - when she was 18 - he allegedly began to beat her, even causing an eye to swell shut. Wiggins warned that if she told anyone, he would go to jail, but not before hurting her, the woman testified... Wiggins, his wife and his two children stood nearby in the eighth-floor hallway of the Criminal Justice Center... Wiggins could face 25 to 50 years in prison if convicted of all charges. [Assistant District Attorney Mark] Cipolletti said the evidence would show that Wiggins took the young woman "under his wing" when she was his 10-year-old karate student and that he "groomed her over a period of years until she was about 12, when he started to have sex with her." Wiggins' alleged sexual involvement with the girl lasted through her teen years, and, as she became a young adult, he added physical violence to the relationship, Cipolletti said. The beatings led the young woman to break off the relationship, get a protection-from-abuse order against Wiggins and start talking with police... [Full article here]

PLAINTIFF: AFTER SHOWING A 'PORNO,' CITY COP BEGAN VIOLATING ME
Philadelphia Daily News
By Mensah M. Dean
Dec. 1, 2010
[Excerpts] A Philadelphia police officer dabbed her eyes and withstood the urge to break down yesterday while telling a jury of how her childhood was polluted by a city police officer who forced her to engage in sex acts for more than eight years. Tyrone Wiggins, 51, began the attacks when she was a 12-year-old sixth-grader at Benjamin Rush Middle School, the now-25-year-old officer testified. "He showed me a porno [video] in his living room," the woman said under questioning by Assistant District Attorney Mark Cipolletti, on the first day of Wiggins' rape trial. "He asked me did I like what I saw. I didn't say anything" she said, sobbing... Wiggins has pleaded not guilty to a battery of charges... He first touched her inappropriately at age 12, she said, when he drove her from his job at the 39th Police District building in Nicetown to a secluded spot in Fairmount Park. "He took out his penis. He told me to jerk it," she said... "He cried and told me, 'Don't tell anybody,'" the woman said. [His attorney, Scott] Sigman told the jury that Wiggins was a good husband to his wife of 24 years, a good father to his daughter and three sons, and a hero police officer who took a bullet in the line of duty in 1994. He said that no DNA evidence or witnesses exist to support the woman's rape claims and that any physical injuries she suffered were the result of her participating in karate with Wiggins, not from his beating her. Sigman said Wiggins was like a father to the woman and vouched for her when she applied to the Police Academy. But she turned on him, Sigman said, when he learned that she had lied to the department about not having sold drugs in the past. Sigman said that Wiggins told her to tell the truth about her drug past and that he had given the department an audio tape he'd made in 2003 of his chastising her about drug dealing. After that, Sigman said, she took out a protection-from-abuse order on Wiggins and shortly thereafter accused him of raping her repeatedly over eight years. [Full article here]

COP ON TRIAL FOR RAPE SAYS THAT 'VICTIM' IS JUST A VENGEFUL INGRATE
Philadelphia Daily News
By Mensah M. Dean
Dec. 9, 2010
[Excerpts] Tyrone Wiggins, the former Philadelphia cop on trial for allegedly raping a girl over an eight-year period, yesterday denied the charge and insisted that all he ever was to the young woman was a mentor, godfather and karate instructor... Wiggins sought to cast the victim - now a 25-year-old Philadelphia cop - as an ingrate bent on revenge. Wiggins said the woman made up the rape story only when her application to become a police officer was put on hold in January 2006, after he told department officials that she had once sold drugs. The woman testified that she had never sold drugs... Wiggins said that he told her to stop selling cocaine and other drugs in 2003 and that he even made an audio tape of him lecturing her about the dangers of drug dealing... [Full article here]

EX-PHILLY OFFICER CONVICTED OF SEX ASSAULT
6abc.com
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
[Excerpts] A Philadelphia jury has convicted a former city police officer of sexually assaulting a girl over an eight-year period. Jurors in Common Pleas Court on Monday convicted 51-year-old Tyrone Wiggins of four sexual assault charges but acquitted him of rape. He will be sentenced March 25... The alleged victim is now 25 and a member of the Philadelphia police department. She broke into deep sobs after the verdict... [Full article here]

[Mixed Verdict]
EX -COP CONVICTED OF INDECENT ASSAULT
myfoxphilly.com
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
[Excerpts] A mixed verdict was handed down today for a former Philadelphia police officer, accused of raping a girl over several years. Jurors convicted 51 year-old Tyrone Wiggins of aggravated indecent assault and corrupting a minor, but acquitted him of rape charges... The sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 25, 2011. Wiggins’ bail was revoked and he was taken into custody. [Full article here]

EX-PHILLY COP GUILTY OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING GIRL FOR YEARS: The victim, who's now a Philly police officer, broke down and cried when the verdict was read
Philadelphia Daily News
By Karen Araiza
Dec 15, 2010
[Excerpts] Ex-Philadelphia police officer Tyrone Wiggins was found guilty Tuesday of sexually abusing a girl for six years. The abuse began when she was 12. That little girl is now a 25-year-old Philadelphia Police officer. Wiggins, 51, claimed that the victim had a history of dealing drugs that he tried to get her to admit to when she was entering the force. He claimed her rape allegations were retaliation... Wiggins taught karate to thousands of kids... The victim was one of his students. Prosecutors said Wiggins targeted the victim when she was 10 and spent two years ingratiating himself with her family. After he'd become like a "godfather" to the victim and her brother, the victim told jurors that Wiggins showed her a pornographic video then "exposed himself and had her perform a sex act on him" the paper reports. She testified that within a year, they were having sexual intercourse... Wiggins, who retired from the department one day before his November 2009 arrest, showed no reaction to the verdict, nor did his wife. However, the victim, now 25 and a Philadelphia police officer, began crying as soon as the first guilty sounded. By the end, her shoulders shook. Wiggins faces up to 40 years in prison. "I want to tell anyone who is a potential victim to come forward," the victim said after the trial. "There is hope, and there is someone who will believe you." [Full article here]

HONORED COP GUILTY IN LONG-TERM SEXUAL ASSAULT OF YOUNG WOMAN
Philadelphia Daily News
By Mensah M. Dean
Wed, Dec. 15, 2010
[Excerpts] Tyrone Wiggins, a former Philadelphia cop... was found not guilty of raping a person under the age of 13, possibly because the jury could not pinpoint if the rapes began that early, said Assistant District Attorney Mark Cipolletti, who prosecuted the case. Common Pleas Judge Sandy L.V. Byrd revoked Wiggins' bail and ordered him jailed until sentencing on March 25... The woman - now a 25-year-old Philadelphia police officer - tearfully testified that she met Wiggins at age 10, when she began taking karate lessons from him at the Olney Recreation Center. She told the jury that Wiggins, a master teacher known as a "sensei," began raping her at age 12 and did not stop until she was a young adult. He began beating her during the end of the sordid relationship... "He abused the trust of the badge," [Assistant District Attorney Mark] Cipolletti said. "He abused and betrayed his fellow officers and, most importantly, he groomed a girl from a very young age and betrayed her trust. Now, finally, he is being punished for what he did." The woman came forward and told authorities what Wiggins had done, Cipolletti said, after she came to terms with what had happened, and received encouragement from family and friends... A decision on whether Wiggins' convictions will result in the forfeiture of his police pension will be made by the city pension board after the city Law Department provides the board with an opinion, said Francis Bielli, executive director of the Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement. [Full article here]

ONLINE COMMENTS

...why was this officer allowed to retire before being charged. sound fishy that he was investigated for 2 yrs then retires 2 days before being arrested...

...because he gets to keep his pension this way. It has been happening in Philly for years in every departmant, after an investigation they are told to retire or if they are arrested while still working they will lose the pension...

...It's not fair to punish his wife and children for his crimes. I have no problem with them receiving his pension. He's going to be in jail for a long time anyway...

...Have you ever been raped? It is something that makes you feel ashamed to be alive, let alone have the courage to stand up to the attacker. It takes adults DECADES to get over something like that, so I wouldn't expect a child to be able to confidently acuse a supposed mentor of something like that. She probably used the "application on hold" as the last straw that he was in fact destroying her life, and, with the help of family, finally was able to admit what happened...

...Why is it that when a cop or any official is convicted of a crime they want to use there years of service to show how good their life was? They did the crimes that they were convicted of while on that job...
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