Crawford officer arrested amid
allegations of indecency with a child
Crawford officer arrested amid
allegations of indecency with a child By OLIVIA MESSER
omesser@wacotrib.com
A Crawford police officer was
arrested Tuesday afternoon by Texas Rangers after an investigation determined
he may have had inappropriate sexual contact with a minor, an affidavit states.
Officer William “Bill” Byrom,
28, was arrested on a warrant alleging indecency with a child sexual contact
with a juvenile under the age of 17.
The affidavit states Crawford
police Chief Clayton Bruton began investigating the alleged incidents on his
own, including an interview with the victim, before asking the Texas Rangers to
step in Friday.
It is unclear what prompted
Bruton to look into the allegations or when they surfaced.
Mayor Brent Meyer said he was
informed of the investigation Oct. 22, and Byrom was put on paid leave the next
day.
According to the affidavit,
Byrom admitted during an interview with a Ranger that he had placed his hands
under the victim’s shirt at least once.
The victim underwent forensic
interviews at the Waco Child Advocacy Center, and she said such incidents
occurred at least four or five times from 2013 through September 2014, the
document shows.
Meyer said a decision about
Byrom’s employment will be made at a city council executive session at 6:30
p.m. Tuesday.
Byrom was released from
McLennan County Jail on a $20,000 bond Tuesday evening
Gerry Hyland sucks, throw him out of office