Jefferson County (KY) Sheriff Had to be Forced to Fire Deputy Years After Sex Crime Against Teen

There's so much wrong with this story.  Let me just start here:

"Police charged [Todd] Walls with first- and third-degree rape, sodomy and unlawful transaction with a minor, according to the original arrest citation. The case was pleaded down to a single count of sexual misconduct. Walls was sentenced to 12-months probation and a $65 fine. "

This was regarding a 15-year-old girl that he met while on duty as a Louisville police officer.  So even though he was quite guilty of raping a teenager -- while a sworn law enforcement officer -- all he got was probation and a lower fine than you get for parking on the sidewalk in my town.  Granted this was all the way back in 1996.

So why are they firing him now, when his employer hasn't cared about it in all these intervening years?  Well, the state has forced their hand.

"Kentucky House Bill 206, signed into law earlier this year, was aimed to keep officers off the force that have been convicted of sex crimes. The law requires KLEC to decertify officers who have been convicted of misdemeanor sex crimes."  That led to Walls' law-enforcement certification finally being revoked, much to his boss' dismay.  I'm a little dismayed about "misdemeanor sex crimes," and actually all of this.

The above-linked article clarifies the finer points of expungement, including that it doesn't mean that legally "it never happened." It also clarifies that this case wasn't eligible for expungement for two reasons:  1. It's a sex offense, and 2. It involved a minor.  Expungement simply means the conviction -- this officer was convicted as I will clarify below -- is wiped off your record.  As the linked article states, "It is not clear why a judge said this case could be expunged."  I would suggest corruption and rape culture as two possible reasons.

But wait, isn't it all just he-said, she said?  Maybe the girl is lying.  Maybe she said she was 18.  You can't ruin a good man's life with false accusations.

"WDRB obtained a copy of the Crimes Against Children Unit report from a source and last month reported details of the 1996 case that included phone calls between Walls and the girl. "Was I good in bed for a 15-year-old?" the girl asked, according to a transcript of the phone call obtained by WDRB. "Heck Yeah," Walls responded."

Okay, so he did it, and he knew, and he DGAF. He pled guilty, got a wrist slap.  Then his record got expunged, and he got hired on as a deputy somewhere else.  So did his new employer, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, not know they were hiring a scumbag?

Jefferson County, You're Doomed

Citizens of Jefferson County, Kentucky, your sheriff had to be forced to remove this POS from its department.  It took a  firm arm-twist by the state, or they weren't going to do a damned thing to keep him away from your daughter.  They know exactly who he is.

"Col. Carl Yates, a sheriff's department spokesman, previously told WDRB that the office was aware of the sex crime conviction and had lawyers look into it.

"We asked legal counsel, and we were we were told that it means it never happened," Yates said. "When records are expunged it means it never happened."

Col. Carl Yates Is Not Worried About Your 15-Year-Old Daughter Getting Raped By A Deputy, Because Lawyers Told Him It Would Be Fine

"WDRB located the now-adult woman as part of efforts to authenticate the Crimes Against Children Unit file. She has never spoken publicly about the sexual encounters with Walls. WDRB is not identifying the woman, as she is a survivor of a sex crime. [Emphasis added]

She's the one who needs to hide it, not him.  Why is that?  Why does she end up hiding a dark secret on society's margin, while it takes 26 years to get him in actual trouble?

"I feel like my silence has allowed (Walls) to feel entitled to keep a position in law enforcement," she said in a recent interview. "I want to make the record very clear: He raped me. He took advantage of me. He committed a crime against a child."

People are paying the salaries of these decision-makers on their behalf.