BENTON, AR -- A city police
officer has been arrested and charged with raping a juvenile, according to
reports.
Lt. Monte Hodge, an 18-year
veteran with the Benton Police Department (BPD), was arrested Wednesday after
the Arkansas State Police notified the BPD of the alleged incident on Oct. 26.
The Benton Police Department
sent the following statement out via email on the case:
On 10/26/13, the Benton Police
Department was notified by the Arkansas State Police that an officer with our
agency was allegedly involved in an off-duty incident they were investigating.
The officer in question, Lt. Monte Hodge, was immediately placed on
administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
An internal investigation was immediately
launched into this allegation and we’ve worked closely with investigators
throughout the entire ordeal. The internal investigation is still on-going at
this time.
Lt. Hodge has been with the
Benton Police Department for over 18 years and was assigned to the patrol
division until Oct. 26th. We respectively refer all questions regarding the
investigation to the Arkansas State Police or Special Prosecutor Chuck Graham,
the Lonoke County Prosecutor.