Pierce County sheriff's deputy charged with custodial sexual misconduct
TACOMA, Wash. -- A Pierce County sheriff's deputy accused of threatening to arrest a woman if she didn't have sex with him has been charged with custodial sexual misconduct.
A woman came forward in January to say patrol deputy Joey D. Tracy coerced her into having sex a year earlier. The woman said she was in a car with three friends in January of 2015 when deputy Tracy pulled them over in a traffic stop.
The woman, who had nine outstanding warrants at the time, said she "begged the defendant not to take her to jail," according to charging papers. Tracy didn't arrest her during the traffic stop, but he texted her a half hour later and said he wanted to speak with her about an earlier high speed chase, according to prosecutors.
When the woman got home, she said Tracy was waiting for her in his patrol vehicle. She got into the vehicle and the two drove around for a while and spoke about the high speed chase. The woman said Tracy didn't initially ask her any personal questions, but they later drove to an area near Wilkeson and she said Tracy "basically told me if I didn't sleep with him he would take me to jail for my warrants," according to charging papers.
The woman said she and Tracy, who was wearing his uniform, had sex in the back of his patrol vehicle.
The woman later told detectives she didn't really want to have sex with Tracy, but "I was scared I was going to lose my freedom, you know," according to court documents.
During her interview with detectives, the woman said she had sex with Tracy a second time a few weeks after the first incident. She said the second time she had sex with him "willingly, but the first time wasn't really so."
Tracy and woman continued to communicate, but they never had sex again, according to prosecutors.
Detectives later searched Tracy's home and found information on his phone that linked him to the woman, including 110 calls or texts between the two.
Pierce County prosecutors charged Tracy with one count of first degree custodial sexual misconduct and one county of official misconduct.
