[LA] Multimillion dollar question for New Orleans: "What good officer finds himself repeatedly accused of raping little girls?"

I hope the families of the children raped by New Orleans police officer Christopher Buckley over the years sue everybody who had a hand in leaving him employed, looking trustworthy with a uniform, badge and gun - puffed him up on the sense of his own perverted power to do whatever he wanted, unobstructed.

IN A COURT SURPRISE, BUCKLEY PLEADED GUILTY TO THE LATEST RAPES YESTERDAY - WITH NO BREAKS OFFERED TO HIM. MAYBE HE WANTED TO AVOID THE DEVIL IN THE DETAILS.

( There are too many officers accused of sexual assault to follow them on this blog, but the girl Buckley was on trial for raping was his girlfriend's daughter - making it also domestic.)

...Buckley's defense attorney, Robert Jenkins, called a sudden halt to the trial [yesterday] on its second day just as the teen prepared to testify. Buckley, who served on the force for 10 years, changed his plea to guilty as charged, copping to seven counts of forcible rape. Six of them relate to the sexual assault of the girl, now 15, and the seventh to an alleged attack against a woman in 2003... After his arrest, police revealed that Buckley had been the subject of two earlier, internal investigations... New Orleans police officer Christopher Buckley was investigated in 2001 and 2003 - once for raping a child and once for raping two children...

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[LA] If Officer Buckley raped this child who is responsible? - ...If Buckley's girlfriend had KNOWN there was a string of previous allegations from children - or convictions - how likely would it be that she would have put her daughter in harms way?... If Buckley was not subjected to a battery of psychosexual testing after your children's complaints, go after them. Grab them where it hurts and squEEze - for all your family's have been through and in behalf of all the people who will become victims in the future if you don't...

NOPD OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY TO RAPING HIS GIRLFRIEND'S 13-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER

The Times-Picayune

By John Simerman

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

[Excerpts] Just as his alleged victim, the 13-year-old daughter of his ex-girlfriend, was sworn in to testify, former New Orleans police officer Christopher Buckley pleaded guilty this morning to raping the girl. Buckley, 39, was arrested in October 2008 after the girl told her story to her mother, also an officer with the NOPD... In all, he pleaded guilty to seven counts of forcible rape. After his arrest, police revealed that Buckley had been the subject of two earlier, internal investigations stemming from complaints of inappropriate behavior with girls, neither of which led to charges. Buckley, a 10-year veteran of the department, resigned immediately after his arrest. The girl's mother testified Tuesday that she found her daughter on the floor of a bedroom closet, in fear... A grand jury indicted Buckley in December 2008 for both the alleged rape of the girl and that of a woman in 2003. One of the charges to which Buckley pleaded this morning involved the second case. Buckley's attorney, Robert Jenkins, suggested Tuesday that the girl, who he said was sexually active, conjured a rape story to save face. But a hospital nurse who conducted a rape exam at Children's Hospital testified that the girl suffered "acute" tearing that suggested sexual assault, as well as scratches to her right hip. Also, prosecution witnesses said Tuesday that the victim had told them Buckley that insisted she take "a test" to show whether she was sexually active. That test, according to prosecutor Payal Patel, turned out to be rape. "We're taught that they're there to protect and serve. We respect them. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that's exactly what Christopher Buckley was banking on," Patel said. "She trusted Christopher Buckley, looked at him like a father." Patel said Tuesday the state would present DNA evidence linking Buckley to the crime today, through a towel that has tested positive for Buckley's semen and other evidence. She said fingernail scrapings tested positive for a mix of the girl's DNA and Buckley's. "She tried to resist him," Patel said. Buckley could face life in prison... [Full article here]

FORMER NOPD OFFICER CHANGES RAPE PLEA TO GUILTY JUST AS 15-YEAR-OLD VICTIM TAKES WITNESS STAND

The Times-Picayune

By John Simerman

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

[Excerpts] The girl wore a pink ribbon in her hair, faux pearl earrings and a grim expression as she reached the witness stand Wednesday, ready to describe how former New Orleans police officer Christopher Buckley raped her multiple times in 2008, when she was 13. But she never got past her name. Buckley's defense attorney, Robert Jenkins, called a sudden halt to the trial on its second day just as the teen prepared to testify. Buckley, who served on the force for 10 years, changed his plea to guilty as charged, copping to seven counts of forcible rape. Six of them relate to the sexual assault of the girl, now 15, and the seventh to an alleged attack against a woman in 2003, for which Buckley awaited a separate trial. Afterward, in a narrow hallway at Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, one of Buckley's relatives allegedly accosted the girl. Police arrested Jasmine Buckley, 20, and charged her with obstruction of justice and intimidating, impeding or injuring a witness, online jail records show. It's not clear whether anyone was injured in the fracas. She was still being booked late Wednesday. Christopher Buckley, 39, was the boyfriend of the teen's mother, also an officer with the NOPD... Only after his arrest did police reveal that Buckley had been the subject of two internal probes stemming from complaints of inappropriate behavior with girls. Neither led to charges. Each of the seven counts carries a prison sentence of five to 40 years. Judge Karen Herman scheduled sentencing for July 15. The girl appeared composed, but then wept from the gallery as her father chastised Buckley at the start of victim impact statements, the formal venting hearing before sentencing. He noted that the girl once considered Buckley a father figure. "In my absence, that was your job, something you should have done. You failed us all," he said. "I hope you realize you've affected not just my family, but your family. Thank you for pleading guilty for what you've done"... After Buckley's guilty plea, a cousin got on the stand and said Buckley tried to sexually assault her in a graveyard, then sometime later forced himself on her. She wept openly, and the judge halted the proceeding for several minutes... Buckley remains jailed in lieu of $2.8 million bond. Christopher Bowman, a spokesman for District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, emphasized that Buckley's change of plea came with no breaks. "We're going to seek the max penalty that we can get on him," he said... [Full article here]

EXCERPTS FROM NEWS SINCE LAST BLOG POST:

DISTURBING ALLEGATIONS TUNED OUT FOR YEARS

The Times-Picayune

By Jarvis DeBerry

October 26, 2008

[Excerpts] It's generally a bad idea to assume crimes were committed when there is no evidence. And when there's evidence leading to a suspect's arrest, it's still improper to assume that person's guilt. Even so, learning that New Orleans police officer Christopher Buckley was investigated in 2001 and 2003 - once for raping a child and once for raping two children - before being arrested Tuesday on the suspicion that he repeatedly raped a child this year will make New Orleanians doubt that Buckley was a model officer during the intervening years. Local residents want all violent criminals prosecuted and want all bad officers off the police force, but somehow Buckley managed to keep his job and avoid prosecution for seven years after the first accusation... It appears that both Richard Pennington's and Eddie Compass' administrations left it to Superintendent Warren Riley to be publicly embarrassed by the arrest of an alleged sexual predator with a badge. Also, two district attorneys declined to pursue charges against the officer... When prosecutors refused the charges police officials did nothing. Harry Connick's office chose not to prosecute the 2001 rape allegation, and Eddie Jordan's office chose not to prosecute the rape allegation from 2003. Riley said both times the Police Department provided witness statements and evidence but that in both cases prosecutors cited the "failure of the victims or the victims' parents" to cooperate. If it's true that the girls themselves or their parents made it impossible for prosecutors to make cases against Buckley, one would expect records in the district attorney's office to reflect that, and one would expect the district attorney's office to leap at the opportunity to say its hands were tied. But when asked Wednesday to explain the office's previous decisions regarding Buckley, a spokeswoman declined to talk, saying her office "cannot comment on any current or prior cases involving Mr. Buckley"... What good officer finds himself repeatedly accused of raping little girls? And if it turns out that Buckley is as bad as the accusations against him suggest, the public will certainly wonder if there are other little girls who have never come forward... [Full article here]

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