TULSA, Okla.
An Oklahoma sheriff's deputy
resigned Wednesday after two women said he sexually assaulted them at a Tulsa
County home while he was on duty, a case that comes on the heels of a state
trooper and an Oklahoma City police officer being arrested on sexual assault
complaints.
Tulsa County Deputy Gerald
Nuckolls, 26, was arrested late Tuesday on complaints of sexual assault and
battery and indecent exposure. He remained jailed on $125,000 bond.
Undersheriff Tim Albin said
Nuckolls resigned after being placed on unpaid leave. Nuckolls hasn't been
formally charged, and authorities believe there could be at least five more
women who have yet to come forward. It's not clear from jail records whether he
has an attorney.
Nuckolls' arrest came a day
after Oklahoma State Trooper Eric Roberts was arrested on complaints of
kidnapping, rape and other crimes. Three women have said Roberts sexually
assaulted them while he was on duty. Roberts' attorney has said the trooper is
innocent.
Weeks before Roberts' arrest,
Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw was accused of sexually
assaulting at least eight women while on duty. Holtzclaw has pleaded not guilty
to the charges.
The recent allegations against
the three lawmen are among similar complaints lodged against Oklahoma officers
in the past decade.
In 2011, Delaware County
commissioners agreed to a $13.5 million settlement after 15 women complained
they were raped, sexually assaulted or fondled by their jailers. In 2009,
Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess was sentenced to 79 years for sexual
assaults against an inmate.
Former Latimer County Sheriff
Melvin Holly was sentenced to 25 years for sexual crimes, including abusing a
19-year-old inmate in 2004 and warning her she would "end up dead
somewhere, floating face-down in a river" if she ever reported what
happened.
Nuckolls, who had worked for
the sheriff's office for two years, showed up at the women's home investigating
a 911 hang-up call, according to his arrest report.
The report alleges Nuckolls
exposed his genitals to one woman inside his patrol SUV. The woman said she
began rubbing the officer's genitals because he told her it would keep her
boyfriend out of jail.
Nuckolls asked a second woman
at the house about her tattoos and if she was wearing a bra, then reached up
and pulled her dress down, according to the report.
The woman said she pulled her
dress up as Nuckolls began touching himself. She said she told him she wanted
to go back inside and that Nuckolls said he would return when his shift ended.
Nuckolls told detectives who
interviewed him that "he has a problem for pretty women" and that
"sexual type activity has occurred" during encounters with about six
women.
Missy Iski, director of
programs and counseling at DVIS/Call Rape in Tulsa, said Wednesday that
potential victims may be reluctant to come forward especially when a law
officer is alleged to have been involved.
"When you add a law
enforcement person, it even adds to the difficulty," Iski said.
