53-year-old Steven Mertz of the Pocono Mountain Regional Police has been charged with rape after police say he promised to drop a DUI charge if the driver had sex with him in Pocono Summit, PA. Mertz received oral sex and vaginal sex from the victim.
Mertz was a corporal with the police department.
On October 16 the female victim was pulled over for drunken driving in the early morning hours, WNEP News reports. The 26-year-old victim failed a roadside sobriety test, and was taken to the local Pennsylvania State Police barracks by Mertz for processing.
Testing revealed the woman’s blood alcohol concentration to be 0.147%. The victim was returned to Mertz, who told her that he could take her home if she was not required to see a judge for any outstanding warrants. On-call Magisterial District Judge Brian Germano permitted the victim to go home if she would report to Magisterial District Judge Daniel Kresge that morning.
According to Pocono Mountain Regional Police Chief Christopher Wagner, it is not uncommon for an officer to escort someone home in situations such as this.
When they arrived at her home, Mertz then allegedly suggested to the victim that he would not file any charges related to driving under the influence of alcohol, and asked if she would like to go “somewhere more private” so he could help with her circumstances.
The victim told the investigators that she expected that Mertz would expect a sexual favor, and that she went along with him because she felt desperate to get out of the DUI charges.
According to police documents, Mertz drove down the street and parked at a nearby cul-de-sac, opened the passenger and rear-passenger doors, and stood in front of the victim. The victim asked if Mertz wanted oral sex, to which Mertz allegedly responded “that will help,” or something similar.
The victim provided oral sex to Mertz.
Mertz then picked the woman up, turned her around and said that he was going to have sex with her. The affidavit states that Mertz put on a condom and penetrated her, ejaculating into the condom.
Mertz allegedly proceeded to take the victim home, kiss her, and provide her with a business card with his phone number, the name of the judge she needed to visit in the morning, and the name of a towing company; Mertz then left.
The victim contacted police to report the sexual encounter with Mertz.
Mertz was arrested by detectives from the District Attorney’s Criminal Investigation Division and charged with rape and other sexual offenses, as well as offenses related to bribery and official oppression.
