SPD chief responds to cop arrested for molestation

Quick Facts: 

• Seattle cop charged with child molestation.
• Chief suspended him without pay.
• Officer has been with department since 1983.

A Seattle police officer who was arrested for molesting the underage daughter of his former girlfriend is now facing criminal felony charges.

Officer Eric A. Smith was booked Monday into the Snohomish County Jail. The victim reported the abuse to her heath teacher when they covered the topic of inappropriate touching in class, and described in specific detail what Smith allegedly did to her, investigators said.

Smith was charged Thursday morning with three counts of first-degree child molestation and two counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. Charges were filed in Snohomish County Superior Court because that’s the county where the girl and her mother lived with Smith. The molestation charges are felonies, the others are gross misdemeanors.

Smith has been suspended without pay. That was not the case with David Blacker, the cyberstalking cop who is trying to get his job back with Seattle police. KIRO 7 uncovered that Blackmer collected more than $83,000 after his arrest, including time he sat in prison convicted of a gross misdemeanor.

Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole, who started after Blackmer’s case, said she learned about the charges from Snohomish County prosecutors.

“As Chief, and as a parent, I am deeply troubled by these allegations,” O’Toole said in a statement. “I have immediately ordered suspension of the officer, without pay, pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.”

Smith offered to pay the girl to perform sexual acts, according court documents released Tuesday. He is being held on $150,000 bail.

Smith's neighbors told KIRO 7 his current roommate has two kids, a boy and a girl.

The mother of the girl in court documents told investigators her daughter made three disclosures about the alleged incidents in the past. In one case the girl retracted what she said and was punished. She later told her mother on two other occasions that she was molested by Smith and also told friends, investigators said.

Court documents also say that Smith, a Seattle officer since 1983, wanted the girl’s mother to have sex with other men while he watched. Part of the girl’s interview revealed similar requests that Smith had for her, according to investigators.

In one instance, Smith allegedly told the girl that if she wanted to stay longer at a function she would have to show another boy her breasts or kiss him.

In an interview with a child interview specialist, the girl said Smith asked to perform oral sex on her. She said he also offered to pay her if she used a vibrator he gave her and would "spank" her the "wrong way."

The abuse is alleged to have occurred over a four-year period when the victim was 7-11 years old.

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