An Oklahoma Freeway Patrol trooper who was charged Monday with sexual assault throughout a visitors cease has prior documented disciplinary findings of comparable inappropriate behaviors relationship again almost 20 years with the company.
Rhinehart
The OHP stated in a press release that Jackie Lee Rhinehart’s employment was terminated Tuesday following the newest inside investigation. Rhinehart, 52, was charged a day earlier in Craig County District Courtroom with forcible oral sodomy and sexual battery towards a lady he reportedly pulled over for dashing in a tractor-trailer in a single day on March 7.
Rhinehart is accused of forcing the driving force to carry out oral intercourse on him — first turning off his cruiser’s digital camera — on the facet of a freeway after issuing her a warning in lieu of a quotation. In accordance with his arrest affidavit, the alleged act was shielded from view by the tractor-trailer rig.
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The girl is described as a 58-year-old Hispanic girl whose major language is Spanish however who can communicate damaged English.
The Freeway Patrol stated the incident was found by a supervisor on March 13 throughout a routine verify of dash-camera video that discovered “uncommon interactions” with the truck driver. The “extremely questionable habits by Rhinehart” reportedly prompted the OHP’s investigation and the company’s contact with the girl.
OHP disciplinary paperwork point out that Rhinehart obtained “casual self-discipline” in 2005 for stopping his in-car video digital camera after having a motorist sit inside with him, in keeping with the data OHP supplied to the Tulsa World in 2020 in response to an open data request.
The OHP handed Rhinehart a 15-workday suspension in March 2016 amid an inside investigation into allegations of undesirable sexual advances and sexually inappropriate feedback involving three feminine workers of the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Faculty Division of Public Security.
Gary James, Oklahoma State Troopers Affiliation lawyer, stated in a telephone interview with the Tulsa World that the self-discipline given to Rhinehart within the 2016 case was overturned on attraction beneath the Oklahoma Advantage Safety Fee.
Rhinehart’s 2016 self-discipline letter famous that he:
- in 2012 obtained suspension with out pay for making inappropriate sexual feedback to a feminine motorist whereas she sat alone with him in his patrol unit;
- in 2011 admitted to inside investigators that he had flirted with girls throughout visitors stops previous to the incident for which he was disciplined in 2012; and
- in 2005 obtained casual self-discipline for intentionally stopping his in-car video digital camera after he had a motorist sit in his patrol automobile — regardless of a earlier warning to report total visitors stops.
“Through the 2011 inside investigation, you admitted you had flirted with girls on visitors stops previously,” the 2016 disciplinary letter to Rhinehart states. “These two investigations, the one in 2011, and this most up-to-date investigation, reveal a repeated sample of inappropriate conduct in the direction of girls, and your makes an attempt to keep away from detection of your misconduct.”
Previous to the alleged crimes March 7 on Interstate 44 — the Will Rogers Turnpike — on the Massive Cabin eastbound entrance ramp, Rhinehart had reportedly made nonverbal gestures that the truck driver interpreted as sexual advances to get her into the truck’s sleeper compartment.
“(The alleged sufferer) contemplated calling 911 however was afraid of the doable penalties from Rhinehart,” in keeping with the affidavit. “(She) additionally contemplated surreptitiously recording the remainder of her interactions with Rhinehart on her cellphone however once more was afraid of the potential penalties.”
James, nevertheless, stated the truck driver reportedly requested that her firm erase the truck’s video footage when she was interviewed concerning the encounter a number of weeks later.
“There’s simply a whole lot of circumstantial proof that might be simply defined,” James stated.
The charging data alleges that Rhinehart both pressured or threatened the girl to get her to carry out oral intercourse on him whereas in his authorized custody. The sexual battery cost stems from an allegation that the trooper additionally kissed the alleged sufferer.
“Rhinehart’s actions should not consistent with OHP’s core values of honesty, loyalty, integrity, respect, self-discipline, and professionalism,” Tim Tipton, commissioner of the Division of Public Security, wrote in a press release. “As quickly as we found the potential for legal or unethical habits, our company took swift motion.
“Rhinehart’s habits is deplorable and has no place throughout the group. The general public places nice belief in regulation enforcement and we try on daily basis to be deserving of that belief.”
Assistant Metropolis Editor Anna Codutti contributed to this story.
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Corey Jones of Tulsa is a member of Lee Enterprises’ Public Service Journalism Crew. [email protected]
