Sex or CPS

March 16, 2011 permalink

West Virginia policeman Christopher Scott Winkler tried to extort sex from a boy with the threat of siccing CPS on his mother.

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March 11, 2011

Former member of Princeton PD arraigned on bribery charge

BILL ARCHER Bluefield Daily Telegraph The Bluefield Daily Telegraph Fri Mar 11, 2011, 05:00 AM EST

PRINCETON — A former officer with the Princeton Police Department was arraigned on a bribery charge in Mercer County magistrate court Thursday afternoon.

Christopher Scott Winkler, 24, of Princeton surrendered to the State Police on Thursday and was arraigned on charges related to an incident that occurred at 10:43 p.m., on March 1, in the parking lot of a grocery store located near the intersection of routes 20 and 104 in the Princeton city limits.

According to the criminal complaint filed by Trooper First Class P.H. Shrewsbury and Sgt. M.R. Crowder of the West Virginia State Police, Winkler allegedly “attempted to negotiate sexual favors” from a 17-year-old male subject. The officers alleged in the complaint that Winkler agreed to reduce a claimed monetary debt owed by the juvenile male if he performed the act on Winkler. The criminal complaint alleged further that Winkler threatened to file criminal charges against the juvenile if he refused and “ruin the rest of his life.”

In addition to the alleged bribe and threat, the criminal complaint alleged that Winkler, who was in uniform at the time of the alleged incident, told the juvenile that if he cooperated, he (Winkler) would not contact Child Protective Services involving a separate matter concerning the juvenile’s mother. The complaint alleged that, “Winkler was on duty and in uniform at the time of this conversation and was using his authority as a police officer to scare the juvenile into cooperating.”

Magistrate Rick Fowler briefly discussed the charge with Winkler, and explained that, if he is found guilty, he could be exposed to a prison sentence of from 1-10 years. Fowler set a $2,500 surety bond in the case, and explained that the bond could be secured at the magistrate’s office.

Crowder and Shrewsbury attended Winkler’s arraignment, but referred questions to Sgt. Michael Baylous of the State Police or Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ash.

“Mr. Winkler was suspended from the Princeton Police Department on the morning after the alleged incident took place,” Ash said. “He returned to the department a couple of days after his suspension and resigned. He has not been on active duty with the police department since March 2.”

Winkler was in the news last summer when he claimed that he lost consciousness during a Multiple Assailant Training exercise at the West Virginia State Academy. Winkler, who was a basic officer at the academy at the time, said that instructors continued beating him after he lost consciousness, causing him to suffer a concussion and develop a life-threatening brain clot in his brain.

A four-member panel appointed by the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety investigated Winkler’s claim and ruled in July 2010 that the training Winkler was exposed to was not improper. “Compromising those preparation efforts does not serve in the best interest of public safety,” according to the panel’s report.

Fowler told Winkler that if he is detained, he will have his preliminary hearing within 10 days, or 20 days if he is released on bond. Winkler said he planned to hire a lawyer.

Source: Bluefield Daily Telegraph