The legal maneuverings
continuein the case of Joshua Carrier, a former Colorado Springs cop who's charged with nearly 200 incidents of sexual assault on children.
He had easy access to kids, given that he was a school resource officer and volunteer wrestling coach.
Carrier was a seven-year veteran of the Colorado Springs Police Department. Most recently, CBS4 reports, he was assigned to work as a resource officer at Horace Mann Middle School. In addition, he served as a Police Athletic League coach and an adviser in a program designed to encourage teens to consider law-enforcement careers.
Presumably, his arrest in May for child pornography didn't prove much of a lure -- and a week or so later, more horrific allegations began to surface. A student wrestler told KKTV that Carrier took it upon himself to check the athletes for ringworm in a way that may have gone beyond a simple concern about health.
"He would actually take us into his own office one by one and touch us and look at us and stuff," said one.
Interviews continued in the months that followed, and by July, prosecutors reportedly bumped up the number of presumed victims from six to 22, bringing the total felony sexual assault counts to a jaw-slackening 189.
At a pretrial hearing in September that lasted two days, more startling details emerged. Testimony included a story about a student who'd headed to the office with a stomach ache. Little did he know that the nurse was gone, and Carrier was filling in. The officer allegedly checked the boy for appendicitis by examining his genitals and rectum -- which doesn't demonstrate a very keen grasp of anatomy. Neither does the story of two boys who Carrier was said to have strip-searched due to suspected marijuana possession. In the process, he's accused of touching their genitals, too.
That's not all: As detailed by the Colorado Springs Gazette, testimony also noted that Carrier possessed several videos showing him touching the genitals of middle-school-age boys.
This week, KKTV reports that a judge ruled a recording between Carrier and his attorney could not remain in the hands of prosecution. His lawyer also cited what he regards as "negligent statements" in an affidavit.
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On November 7, Carrier is due back in court on the child-porn charges. But at this point, they're the least of his problems.
Below, find a larger version of Carrier's booking photo.
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More from our Mug Shots archive: "Top 6 mug shots of 2010 accused teachers, caretakers."
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