Article Highlights:
"...in a trial focused on blockbuster allegations that the former police chief in Fairfax County and the three officers were clients of the prostitution ring and that they served as its protectors by tipping off the head of the enterprise, Hazel Sanchez, when stings and undercover police would be in the area."
"So far, the jury has heard testimony from Doe and another woman who says she was trafficked. Both identified all four officers as men they had seen in the various hotels and apartments in northern Virginia where Sanchez would set up shop."
"...Jurors in the civil trial in U.S. District Court in Alexandria face the much tougher question of whether the four officers abetted Doe’s trafficking."
"“They are with the force of the law. They’re her to protect us. They have to not be clients,” Doe said Thursday, after she regained her composure and the trial resumed."
"Roessler and Baumstark were added to the lawsuit initially on allegations that they were helping to cover up officers’ misdeeds. It was not until the trial began on Tuesday that Roessler and Baumstark were publicly accused of being actual clients of Sanchez, who was convicted of running a prostitution ring in federal court and sentenced to prison."
" Both women also said they did not believe they could flee to police because they believed police were protecting Sanchez."
According to the suit, Fairfax County police officers let predators operate in exchange for free sexual services in a coverup that reached all the way to the then-chief. In one instance, the suit claims, a lieutenant threatened a detective who raised concerns, telling him to “keep [his] mouth shut and don’t utter the words ‘human trafficking’ again.”
The next year, Woolf [Detective assigned to investigate alleged trafficking] was aggressively interrogated by Lt. Vincent Scianna about flying to interview a sex-trafficking witness, the suit claims. It reports that Woolf claims Scianna turned off the recorder he had been using to tape the meeting and asked, “You know what this is really about, don’t you?” before issuing the order to “keep [his] mouth shut” if he wanted to keep working in law enforcement. “You have six kids. You have to think about them,” the suit says Scianna added. (Scianna could not be reached for comment.)
[Det.] Woolf agreed not to raise the issue of human trafficking again, and was assigned to work on child pornography and runaway cases, according to the complaint. Two days later, Chief of Police Edwin Roessler, who retired this year, called and said he wanted to make sure Woolf was “willing to play ball.” The suit says Woolf assured the chief that he was. (Roessler could not be reached for comment.)
According to the suit, the bureau eventually referred the corruption case back to the Fairfax police, which allegedly allowed the officers to resign quietly and maintain their pensions.
Fairfax County Police officers protected sex trafficking' ring: (12/21/2021)
"A federal lawsuit filed by a prominent civil rights attorney alleges that police officers in Fairfax County protected a sex trafficking ring in northern Virginia in exchange for free sex from the trafficked women.
The lawsuit also names the former Fairfax County Police chief, Ed Roessler, as a defendant, alleging that he helped cover up for the officers when another detective's work threatened to expose their wrongdoing.
[a detective] pressed his efforts to investigate, he said he was threatened by high-ranking officers. He said he even received a call from Roessler, whose voice he recognized even though he did not identify himself, saying "I need to make sure you’re willing to play ball,” according to the lawsuit.
Roessler resigned as chief earlier this year. During his time as chief, Roessler received praise from politicians and activists for his efforts at transparency and his willingness to support criminal charges against officers accused of wrongdoing. But officers on the force overwhelmingly supported no-confidence votes against him conducted by police unions.
Calls and an email to numbers and an address associated with Roessler were unanswered or disconnected."
Article: Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Lauds Outgoing Chief of Police (2/1/21)
12/10/2020 Board Of Supervisors meeting Public Comments from 12/1/2020
[the announcement] came after police officers say their morale is the lowest it has ever been, and after calls for his resignation from some officers
A recent meeting of the Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee mentioned low morale in the police force.
“I’ve met with hundreds of Fairfax County police officers in recent months, in group settings and individually,” said Public Safety Chairman Rodney Lusk (Lee) at a committee meeting before Roessler’s announced retirement, “and to a person they have told me morale within the police department is the lowest that it has ever been.”
The Fraternal Order of Police called for Roessler to resign after he condemned the actions of an officer who was charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault and battery after tasing a man in the Mount Vernon District.
“Bolster The Blue,” a self-described conservative grassroots organization, held a press conference with Fairfax County GOP to say that their efforts helped lead to Roessler’s retirement.
The decision drew somewhat pro-forma statements of thanks for his service from elected officials, and veritable cheers from the leader of a police organization, who called for an outsider to be brought in to lead the department.
Police groups pressed for Roessler’s resignation in June this year after he sided with the county Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano on charging Officer Taylor Timberlake after he tasered a man in Mount Vernon following a possible case of mistaken identity.
About 300 officers participated in an Oct. 15 “listening session” held by the Fairfax County Police Association and the Fairfax Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). Supervisor Patrick Herrity (R-Springfield) said the issues raised had percolated for years and did not just reflect U.S. controversies over policing.
“Our police department is in crisis – a word I do not use lightly,” Herrity wrote in a newsletter to constituents. “Our officers are operating in a culture of fear and retaliation, afraid to do their jobs with conflicting guidance and a lack of support from leadership.”
FOP president Brad Carruthers said the group’s members were “ecstatic” about Roessler’s retirement decision, adding the department’s morale was “pretty much destroyed” after Timberlake’s arrest.
“Officers in Fairfax County are doing a great job and when they’re called into question, the unfortunate part is, they’re not having the [chief’s] backing,” he said.
Note: ^Fairfax County has removed the videos which were formerly displayed here from their Facebook page.
Anonymous letter dated week of 6/14, shared on Facebook by multiple sources
Anonymous letter - shared week of 6/14 - initially shared on Facebook by multiple sources
Source: Multiple sources shared on Facebook
Source: Anonymous letter - Copied from multiple sources & initially shared on Facebook
Source: Anonymous letter - Copied from multiple sources & initially shared on Facebook
Letter to Mr. Roessler & Rohrer, Per Association President, Jeremy Hoffman, via FOIA, and shared on Facebook by multiple sources.
