Patchogue Sued After Public Safety Officer Accused Of Sex Abuse

PATCHOGUE, NY — The Village of Patchogue has been sued in federal court stemming from sexual abuse allegations against a public safety officer. Joe Walsh, attorney at Walsh & Roth, LLP, told Patch the lawsuit was filed this week.

The suit, filed in the Eastern District District of New York, seeks monetary damages, as well as attorney fees and any other relief the court feels is appropriate.

Around 4 a.m. on April 15, 2018, an on-duty Patchogue public safety officer sexually assaulted a Wading River woman after falsely arresting and imprisoning her, the lawsuit alleged. Patch does not identify victims of sexual abuse.

The officer pulled up next to a curb on Main Street and ordered the woman to get inside the village-owned vehicle, the lawsuit said. The officer, who was also named in the lawsuit, then got out of the car, opened the passenger door and ordered her once more to get in.

She complied, and he told her he would take her to her car. He didn't, instead taking her to a parking lot. Once there, the officer pulled down his pants and had her perform a sex act on him even though the woman said she did not want to, the lawsuit alleged. After the abuse was over, the woman asked to use the bathroom, to which the officer told her she had to "urinate in front of the car with the car lights on," the lawsuit said.

The officer then brought her back to her car, dropped her off, and drove away.

As a result of the attack, the woman suffered emotional trauma and suffering, including fear, embarrassment, humiliation, emotional distress, frustration, extreme inconvenience, anxiety and loss of liberty, the lawsuit said.

Attorneys said the woman's Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to be "free from an unreasonable search and seizure" and due process were violated.

Specifically, the lawsuit said the village failed to "remedy the wrong" after learning of the abuse.

Dennis Fajardo, who is named in the lawsuit and identified as the officer, was arrested about a month after the incident, court records showed. He pleaded not guilty to sexual misconduct in one case and forcible touching in a second. He was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to return to court Aug. 30.

Fajardo's attorney couldn't immediately be reached.

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