A D.C. police officer has been arrested and charged with sexual abuse Thursday after police said he sexually assaulted a victim in the Mount Pleasant area earlier this week.
Pearce Then, 42, of Adelphi, Maryland, has been with the department since 2012. Police said Then is assigned to the Fourth District, but that his police powers “have been revoked and he is currently in a position where he has no contact with the public.”
Then is accused of sexually assaulting a client who was receiving therapeutic treatment from him Monday night in the 3600 block of 16th Street Northwest. Police said Then was not on duty and that he and the victim knew each other.
“The Metropolitan Police Department does not condone any criminal or immoral conduct by an employee,” D.C. police Chief Peter Newsham said in a statement Thursday. “Officer Then’s actions are a disgrace to everyone who wears a badge. I am thankful that MPD’s Sexual Assault Unit was able to quickly bring this case to closure.”
Then has been charged with first-degree sexual abuse of a client.
A LinkedIn page for Pearce Then lists him as president of Shine Commercial Cleaning, LLC, with a business address at 3636 16th St NW. It appears to have operated out of the Woodner apartment complex.
Calls to Shine Commercial Cleaning, LLC’s listed business number went unanswered.
Calls to Roche’s Microblading & Spa, which shares the same address as Shine Commercial Cleaning, LLC, also went unanswered. The spa was listed as the location of the assault in a D.C. police report.
Below is a map of the area where police said the sexual abuse happened.
