Two former police officers in Etowah County were arrested Monday night on sex crime charges.
Jonathan Perry Works, 41, of Gadsden, and Brian Edward Walker, 44, of Rainbow City were booked into the Etowah County Jail in the early evening, records show. Both worked at Southside Police Department and their arrests followed indictments that were issued earlier in the day.
Works is charged with two counts of first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree sodomy, state court records show.
The rape indictments against Works state he engaged in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex who was incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless or mentally incapacitated. On the sodomy charges, Works is accused of engaging in deviate sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex who was incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless or mentally incapacitated.
The victim’s name was redacted and it wasn’t clear if all four counts involved the same victim or different victims. Works’ bond is set at $100,000.
Walker is charged with two counts of rape. According to the indictment, Walker did engage in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex who was incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless or mentally incapacitated or, having a legal duty to prevent the commission of the offense, did fail to make an effort he is legally required to make.
The indictment against Walker lists the names of two different women. Walker’s bond is set at $50,000.
Southside Police Chief Chris Jones said his office obtained information on Nov. 21 regarding allegations of criminal misconduct by the two officers and immediately turned the investigation over to ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigation.
The officers were placed on leave with pay, and subsequently resigned from the police department, Jones said. Jones said the Southside Police Department worked with SBI, the Etowah County District Attorney’s Office and the Rainbow City Police Department throughout the investigation. He declined further comment. “We’re going to help them (investigators) in any way we can,” Jones said of the ongoing investigation.