Austin Fire Official Charged With Sexual Assault

AUSTIN, TX — An Austin Fire Department arson investigator turned himself into authorities on Wednesday after being charged with sexually assaulting a woman he lured into his city-owned vehicle in March.

The Office of the District Attorney released a press advisory on Wednesday detailing the charges against Lt. Marcus Reed: Sexual assault, misuse of official information and the misdemeanor offenses of official oppression and abuse of official capacity. The 450th District Court set bonds for each indictment, and Reed turned himself into the Travis County Sheriff's Office before being booked into the Travis County Jail, according to the DA's office.

"The indictments allege that Reed unlawfully used his official status with AFD to sexually assault a woman that he came in contact with while he was on duty," DA Margaret Moore said in a prepared statement. "The District Attorney's Office has no further comment."

Reed faces life in prison for the sexual assault charge. In a statement, Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr said Reed would be suspended without pay Thursday.

The charges stem from a March incident centered on a vehicle that was blocking traffic in South Austin near St. Elmo Road after a female motorist's keys were taken by her female passenger after the two argued. According to a previous affidavit, Reed is said to have pulled up in his city-owned truck with the emergency lights activated before securing the keys to the woman's vehicle.

Reed is said to have instructed the woman to get into the truck with the ruse of looking for the passenger. Instead, Reed allegedly took the woman elsewhere before sexually assaulting her, past reports indicate.

The case marks the second time in recent months that an AFD lieutenant has been charged with a crime after a former lieutenant was recently charged with installing a hidden camera in a women's changing area in a fire station to surreptitiously record the unsuspecting victims. The former fire official has since been identified as James Baker.

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