Mylett Back As Bellevue Chief After Sex Assault Allegation

BELLEVUE, WA - Bellevue police chief Steve Mylett is back on the job today after a Bothell police investigation cleared him of a sexual assault allegation. The woman who accused Mylett may now face criminal charges including perjury and false reporting, according to Bothell police.

Mylett has been on leave since Aug. 2 as Bothell detectives conducted their investigation. The woman who accused Mylett has also accused former Bellevue officer John Kivlin of assault - although charges against Kivlin were dropped earlier this month.

"This was a difficult situation for everyone involved. We take allegations of any type of misconduct very seriously and we are grateful the Bothell Police investigated this matter thoroughly," Bellevue City Manager Brad Miyake said in a press release.

Mylett's accuser went to Bothell police on July 30, telling officers she met Mylett on the bondage site Fetlife.com in the fall of 2016. The accuser said she agreed to be tied up but not to sexual intercourse. She claimed Mylett had sex with her while she was bound and gagged.

Mylett, however, later told Bothell police that he had never met the accuser, according to police reports. He also denied having used a website like Fetlife.com.

The accuser told police that she could prove the assault in multiple ways, including providing the underwear she wore after the assault. An analysis of the underwear showed DNA from three other men, but none matched Mylett's DNA profile, according to the police report.

Bothell investigators also uncovered evidence that the accuser used various internet tools to fabricate electronic records to make it look like she and Mylett had contact with each other in 2016. For example, the accuser allegedly used the search engine Spokeo to find email addresses associated with Mylett. She then used another web service capable of generating emails to make it look like she had corresponded with Mylett.

"This has been a hard time for both me and my family, and we’re eager to have the investigation behind us," Mylett said in a statement Monday.

Image via Bellevue police