Former West Hartford Cop Implicated In Vernon Sex Assault Case

VERNON, CT — A Vernon resident identified by police as a former West Hartford cop has been charged in a sexual assault investigation involving a pregnant woman, a warrant states.

Robert Tanner Tate, 26, who lives in an apartment on South Street in Vernon, was charged with:

• First-degree sexual assault
• Second-degree sexual assault
• Third-degree sexual assault on a pregnant person
• Violation of a protective prder
• Criminal possession of a firearm/ammunition/electronic defense weapon

Tate is a former West Hartford cop and current nurse at the Hartford Hospital emergency wing, police said, citing a 33-page warrant. He was only on the job a few months, police said.

He was taken into custody on Wedesday and was being held on a court-set $150,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in Rockville Superior Court on Thursday, police said.

According to the warrant, in March of 2019, a woman sought medical assistance at UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester after allegedly being sexually assaulted by Tate at his Vernon residence.

At the request of Vernon police, the UMass Memorial Hospital Police Department made contact with the woman and initiated the criminal complaint, a warrant states.

The woman, who was pregnant at the time with Tate's child, said that Tate overpowered and forced her to engage in sexual relations against her will, according to the warrant.

The UMass Memorial Hospital Police Department also assisted the woman with obtaining a restraining order out of Massachusetts against Tate, according to the warrant.

The order was not contested, and Tate was ordered to surrender all firearms and ammunition to Vernon police, according to the warrant. Tate did not comply fully with the order and a search warrant was executed at his home, where ammunition was seized, according to a warrant.

The warrant references Tate as a one-time senior at Ellington High School. He is listed in the warrant as 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds and the woman at 4-foot-11 and 120 pounds.

Vernon police said the case is still being actively investigated and it could lead to additional charges.

Vernon Police said Wednesday afternoon they are looking to speak with anyone "who may have information regarding Tate." They are "encouraged" to contact Detective Thomas Van Tasel at 860-872-9126 x3767 or tvantasel@vernon-ct.gov.