Former Philadelphia Cop Faces Rape Charge, $60M Bail
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Hemera/Thinkstock(PHILADELPHIA) — A former Philadelphia police officer once hailed as a hero and invited by the vice president to attend a presidential address to Congress now faces 16 charges, including rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and making terroristic threats.
Bail for Richard DeCoatsworth, 27, has been set at $60 million after he allegedly sexually assaulted two women at gunpoint.
Authorities alleged DeCoatsworth, of Philadelphia, left a party with two women at approximately 2 a.m. Thursday and brought them to another location. He then, “produced a handgun and allegedly forced the two females to engage in the use of narcotics and sexual acts,” Philadelphia Police Department spokeswoman Officer Tanya Little said.
The women contacted police once DeCoatsworth left the undisclosed site, Little said.
DeCoatsworth was arrested at his home Saturday morning and was booked at the Philadelphia County Jail. His preliminary arraignment was held on Saturday night, according to court documents.
Philadelphia Prisons System spokeswoman Sean Hawes told ABC News that DeCoatsworth was being represented by a public defender, but she did not know his attorney’s name.
ABC News’ calls to the Defender Association of Philadelphia were not immediately returned.
DeCoatsworth came into public view after he chased a gunman who shot him in the face in West Philadelphia in 2007, Philadelphia ABC News affiliate WPVI-TV reported. He caught his attacker, who later was sentenced to 36 to 72 years in prison.
According to WPVI, Vice President Joe Biden subsequently invited DeCoatsworth to attend President Obama’s televised address to Congress in February 2009, and he sat beside first lady Michelle Obama.
DeCoatsworth retired from the police department on disability in December 2011, WPVI reported.
“I think that since he got shot, he’s not the same person,” one neighbor told WPVI.
Authorities declined to release the locations of DeCoatsworth’s alleged assaults or the names of the alleged victims, citing a desire to protect the victims and the integrity of the investigation.
DeCoatsworth’s next court date was scheduled for June 17, according to court documents.
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