Police inspector indicted for assaulting 3 female officers

October 24, 2019

A Philadelphia police chief inspector was indicted Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting three women who were officers at the time. Carl Holmes’ arrest comes two months after Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross resigned after allegations that he failed to address sexual harassment and misconduct.

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office accused Holmes of coming onto female recruits he was mentoring and, in at least three cases, allegedly sexually assaulting them. Holmes surrendered to police Thursday morning.

District Attorney Larry Krasner said Thursday that in two instances, the new recruits came to Holmes for guidance and he allegedly sexually assaulted them in a police department office, CBS Philadelphia reported. In a third case, Holmes allegedly convinced an officer to join his task force. Three days later, she said she was also assaulted.

Krasner said all three women were subjected to internal affairs investigations after they reported the alleged assaults.

“There’s victims in this and I would never want any officer in my command to be a victim of something we could’ve prevented,” acting Philadelphia Police Commissioner Christine Coulter said.

The allegations date back to 2004. Although this is the first time Holmes has faced criminal charges, the police department tried to fire him in 2014 before the union intervened, according to CBS Philadelphia. It’s not clear why the department tried to fire him. Holmes is currently suspended from the department.

“We’ll see what happens in court, but he’s gone as far as we’re concerned, and we don’t expect him back,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said Thursday.

In 2017, the city paid out over $1 million in a civil lawsuit against Holmes.

When Ross resigned in August, a spokeswoman for Kenney told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Ross allegedly knew about allegations against several department employees.