Charges dropped against Pierce County sheriff’s deputy accused of sexual misconduct

Pierce County prosecutors have again dropped charges against a sheriff’s deputy accused of forcing a woman to have sex with him to avoid going to jail.

Joey Tracy, 35, first faced charges of custodial sexual misconduct and official misconduct in April in Superior Court.

Prosecutors later dropped the count of sexual misconduct and moved the remaining charge to District Court. This month the state dropped the remaining count of official misconduct, a gross misdemeanor.

Deputy Prosecutor Bryce Nelson wrote in the order of dismissal Jan. 17 that a detective hadn’t been able to find the woman who made the allegation, and that prosecutors couldn’t go forward with the case without her.

The initial charging papers alleged Tracy had sex with the woman in January 2015, after he threatened to arrest her on active warrants if she refused.

In April, when the charges were filed, Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said that Tracy had been on administrative leave since November 2015.

Friday, he said Tracy’s nearly four-year employment with the county was terminated Dec. 9, 2016, after he used up his sick leave and other time off.

Troyer said he couldn’t provide other details of Tracy’s leave or his termination from the department, due to privacy laws.

This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Charges dropped against Pierce County sheriff’s deputy accused of sexual misconduct."