A former officer with the Savanna Police Department in Pittsburg County has been sentenced to 100 months in prison after pleading guilty in federal court to violating the civil rights of a woman he sexually assaulted during a traffic stop last year.
Jerry Lynn “Jay” Gragg Jr., 40, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Muskogee to 100 months in federal prison followed by four years of supervised release.
Gragg accepted a plea deal, the terms of which require him to forfeit his law enforcement certification and comply with federal and state sex offender registration requirements, according to a news release.
Court documents state that Gragg, while on duty, stopped a vehicle in the early morning hours of Jan. 21. Gragg then took the driver back to his marked patrol unit and told her to sit in the front passenger seat, the records indicate.
The woman told authorities that Gragg said he would take her to jail unless she could pay the fine in full, but she didn’t have enough money.
“Given the coercive power of Gragg’s position as a law enforcement offer, and the physical disparity in size between Gragg and the victim, she could not escape from the patrol car,” a news release states.
The woman told investigators that Gragg then made sexual advances and forced her to perform oral sex.
She later filed a complaint and provided a stained blouse that allegedly matched a DNA sample provided by Gragg, according to reports.
Gragg was fired March 30 for policy and procedure violations.
Authorities said Gragg admitted that his acts included aggravated sexual abuse, which under federal law, requires force or putting the victim in fear of bodily injury, kidnapping or death, according to the news release.
”I commend the victim for her strength and courage to come forward and provide law enforcement with the information necessary to hold the Defendant accountable for committing this heinous act and for violating his oath to protect and serve his community.” U.S. Attorney Brian Kuester said in a prepared statement. “While the majority of law enforcement officers follow the laws they are sworn to uphold, this Office will continue to investigate and prosecute those who choose otherwise.”
Gragg originally was arrested on complaints of forcible sodomy, two counts of sexual battery and accepting a bribe.