Ex-Metro officer violates probation, will go to prison

Thursday, Sept. 16, 2004 | 9:51 a.m.

A former Metro Police officer who was sentenced to probation for using his position in law enforcement to coerce sex from two prostitutes in 1997, will now serve one to four years in prison for violating the terms of his probation.

District Judge Sally Loehrer said that since he was a former officer, 38-year-old Arthur Sewall "of all people" should have known how important it is to follow the conditions of his probation.

Sewall's probation officers in San Diego found a .22-caliber handgun and a knife at Sewall's residence and informed the Clark County Department of Parole and Probation that Sewall had failed to complete required sex offender counseling sessions.

Sewall was serving his probation in San Diego; he will serve his prison time in Nevada.

Sewall did catch a break from both the prosecution and Loehrer on Wednesday as it was determined he could serve both of his one- to four-year prison sentences concurrently as opposed to consecutively as he was sentenced in 1999.

At that time, Sewall had pleaded guilty to two counts of oppression under the color of office in exchange for first-degree kidnapping and sexual assault charges being dismissed.

He was ordered to attend counseling sessions and was forbidden to possess firearms. Sewall also was ordered to give DNA samples for submission to a sex offender database and was required to perform 16 hours of community service a month.

One of Sewall's victims had testified that the off-duty officer picked her up, drove her to a deserted alley and asked her what she would do in exchange for not going to jail. The woman said Sewall, whom she recognized as a police officer from earlier contacts with him, sexually assaulted her.

The second victim told police that Sewall caught her with drug paraphernalia, made her take him to her apartment and then forced her to perform oral sex.

According to court testimony, after telling another officer about the incident, Metro's Internal Affairs Division arranged for the victim to again be found with drug paraphernalia by Sewall. The seven-year Metro veteran was caught on videotape asking the woman, "What are we going to do about this?"

Sewall resigned from the police force in March 1997.