Pierce County sheriff’s deputy forced woman to have sex to avoid arrest, charging papers state

Pierce County prosecutors have charged a sheriff’s deputy with sexual misconduct and official misconduct, linked to allegations the deputy forced a woman to have sex in his patrol car or face arrest.

Deputy Joey Tracy, 34, was arraigned Friday and entered a plea of not guilty to charges of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct and official misconduct.

Court Commissioner Meagan Foley released him on his own recognizance.

Tracy has been on paid administrative leave since November 2015, when an unrelated investigation began into whether he had violated department procedures, according to sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer.

In March, while that investigation was still underway, a third party told the Sheriff’s Department about the alleged sexual misconduct, Troyer said.

Since his arrest Thursday by sheriff’s deputies, Tracy no longer is being paid.

“When we learned of this situation, we moved immediately to conduct a criminal investigation and submitted it for prosecution,” Sheriff Paul Pastor said. “Public trust is enhanced when we hold our people accountable for misconduct.”

Prosecutors asked for a bail of $50,000, noting that the sheriff’s department had expressed concern about Tracy’s mental health.

“I am confident that this man is not at risk of hurting himself or anyone else at this point,” said Tracy’s attorney, Brad Meryhew.

After court, Tracy’s attorney spoke with reporters.

“He’s denying that he coerced or forced anyone to do anything,” Meryhew said.

Asked why Tracy was not charged with rape, Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said: “Just like any other case, we charged what we could prove. ... In other words, we could not prove the elements of rape beyond a reasonable doubt.”

To charge Tracy with third-degree rape, for instance, state law would require prosecutors to prove the victim didn’t consent, and that the victim clearly expressed that.

Tracy, who has worked for the Sheriff’s Department since 2012, encountered the woman during a traffic stop near Bonney Lake in January 2015, charging papers state.

The woman, identified only by her initials, had active arrest warrants. Tracy scolded her for not responding to earlier calls regarding those warrants, the charges state.

The woman begged Tracy not to take her to jail. He allegedly agreed, and wished her a happy new year. About 25 minutes later, she got a text message from Tracy, asking to speak to her.

Tracy was in his patrol car in front of the woman’s house, filling out paperwork, charging papers state. The woman estimated it was 9 or 10 p.m. She got in the car with Tracy, who asked her a few questions.

“(The woman) said the defendant took her to an area in Wilkeson and ‘basically told me if I didn’t sleep with him he would take me to jail for all my warrants,’ ” charging papers state.

The sex followed, in the back of the patrol car, according to the charging papers. The woman told investigators she agreed to avoid going to jail.

A second encounter followed a month later, according to the charging papers, which added that investigators found records of 110 text messages from Tracy to the woman.

An internal investigation followed. Criminal charges grew out of that inquiry.

“Our people are honest and upstanding people,” Pastor said. “When one of them behaves otherwise we will pursue criminal charges whenever appropriate. In this case, I believe that it was very appropriate to do so.”

This story was originally published April 28, 2016 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Pierce County sheriff’s deputy forced woman to have sex to avoid arrest, charging papers state."