BENTON HARBOR – His job was to enforce the law but now a Benton Harbor police officer is accused of breaking it.
Prosecutors say patrolmen Jared Graves threatened to arrest a woman for marijuana possession if she would not perform sex acts. Graves is accused of forcing the woman to have sex at the police station and at the Harbor Towers apartment complex.
He faces charges for delivery of marijuana, misconduct in office, and criminal sexual conduct. If convicted, he could spend a maximum of 40 years in prison. Graves was arraigned in court.
Cameras around the police station helped back up the victim's story. She said Graves told her if she did not agree he would then arrest her.
Just two weeks after Graves resigned from the force, he appeared in court, by video, to answer to the charges against him. Investigators say on October 3, Graves was called to Harbor Towers in Benton Harbor for possible drug use.
He knocked on a door and eventually took the drugs from the victim but did not file charges. Two days later, investigators say he called the woman and told her to come to the station. The victim told police that he forced her to perform sex acts in a storage area, and she said he threatened her again November 16.
Chief Lange said Graves apologized for disappointing the department but he never offered an explanation.
“I never got that answer. I can't give you an answer,” said Roger Lange, Chief of Benton Harbor Police. “He's going to have to search himself, his own soul to find out why he did something like this. You got to understand, he not only disappointed his fellow officers and this administration but he disappointed the community.”
Grave's bond was set for $10, 000 dollars. He will appear in court with his attorney next week for a pre-exam hearing. There, he is expected to enter a plea.
In court Thursday, Graves' family and friends were there to support him. His mother did not want to talk to us on camera but she would only say she is standing by her son’s side.
