GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A former police officer was arrested Friday after investigators said he forced a woman into her South Carolina home and sexually assaulted her while he was on duty.
Greenville County Deputy Christopher Abercrombie was fired the day after the Oct. 29 attack while state agents investigated, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Abercrombie was in uniform and armed with a gun when he forced the woman to take off her pants and held her against a table before rubbing her genitals without consent, the State Law Enforcement Division agents said in an arrest warrant.
Abercrombie, 34, is charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, burglary and other charges. He faces up to life in prison if convicted. He remained in the Greenville County jail Friday. Court and jail records didn’t indicate whether he had a lawyer who could comment.
Abercrombie was hired in September 2019, the sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff Hobart Lewis said internal investigators began looking into Abercrombie as soon as they heard the accusation and he was fired the next day.
“It was immediately made clear that Mr. Abercrombie broke the oath he swore to uphold and under no circumstances will behavior of utter disgrace be tolerated in my office,” Lewis said in a statement.
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