Cop charged with sex assault

Keith Paul

Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2002 | 9:32 a.m.

A Metro Police officer was charged Tuesday with sexual assaulting a teenage girl in Henderson several times in recent years.

Officer Jason P. Woodard, 28, was charged in a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Henderson Justice Court with eight counts of sexual assault with a minor under 16, two counts of lewdness with a child under the age of 14 and two counts of open and gross lewdness. The sexual assault charge is punishable by a life sentence with the eligibility of parole after 20 years.

A summons was issued for Woodard to appear at the Henderson Police Department on March 4 for processing and appear in Henderson Justice Court on March 18 for an arraignment.

Woodard's attorney David Chesnoff said his client will plead not guilty.

"These allegations are surfacing years after the alleged events and are inconsistent with statements she has made to the family," Chesnoff said. "Mr. Woodard is looking forward to defending himself in court."

Henderson Police started an investigation several months ago after the allegations were made by the girl. Clark County prosecutors have been reviewing the case for a couple of months and approved the case for charges last week.

The girl told her family of the allegations in the fall of 2001. Henderson Police would not release details of the investigation citing department policy not revealing information about sexual assaults.

Woodard, an officer since July 1999, was suspended with pay by Metro Police after the Henderson Police investigation started, Undersheriff Richard Winget said.

Woodard is accused of inappropriately touching the girl twice between August 1996 and August 1997 when the girl was under 14 years old. Woodard is also accused of touching or sexually assaulting the girl several times between August 1997 and August 1999 when the girl was under 16 years old, according to the criminal complaint.

Prosecutors in the special victims unit reviewed the case before charges were filed.

"I looked at the case and thought it should be approved for prosecution," said Douglas Herndon, chief deputy Clark County district attorney in charge of the special victim's unit. "The allegations weren't that she consented but wasn't old enough to do so, rather it was something she engaged in because of intimidation or coercion."

Chesnoff said prosecutors are more likely to go forward on these types of allegations when a police officers is the accused.

"People think that (the district attorney) is protecting the people in authority if they just walk away from the charges," Chesnoff said.

Herndon said that Woodard is a Metro Police officer didn't factor into the decision to charge.

Woodard will remain off duty with pay until there is a verdict on the criminal charges.

Woodard also faces an internal investigation by Metro Police into the allegations, Winget said.