Woman sues city claiming sex with officers

Cynthia Jones, 41, says two Clearwater police officers came to her home on a call, then forced her to have sex.

By CHRIS TISCH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 6, 2003

CLEARWATER -- A woman who claims two Clearwater police officers had sex with her while they were on duty is suing the city.

Cynthia Jones, 41, says in a Circuit Court complaint that the city owes her more than $15,000 because it was negligent in supervising and employing the officers she claims had sex with her.

The officers, James Mehr Jr. and Anthony Pearn, resigned last spring as a seven-month investigation into the allegations was winding down. City Manager Bill Horne said he planned to fire the officers if they didn't quit the department.

Jones, who filed her complaint last week, accused the officers of using their authority to force her into sex at her Clearwater Beach home. The officers came to Jones' home on April 14, 2000, after a friend reported she was suicidal. Jones claims the officers gave her depression medication, then stripped off their uniforms and had sex with her.

Jones claims the men returned twice that night to have sex. She claims Mehr returned several other times in the next 18 months to have sexual relations. She has provided conflicting statements about whether Pearn came to her home again, though the complaint filed last week states Pearn did return.

Mehr and Pearn have denied her allegations. The former officers say they went to Jones' home that night, checked on her well-being and left. No sex ever occurred, they have said.

But police officials found Jones' story credible after the internal investigation.

Jones' attorney, Steven Loewenthal, said city officials would not speak with him about settling.

City Attorney Pam Akin said she did sit down with Loewenthal early on, but later decided the city should wait for the litigation to progress before talking about a potential settlement.

She said the prospect of keeping an eye on other suits that have been filed in the case, including a defamation suit the officers have filed against Jones, factored into the decision.

Loewenthal says supervisors should have known something was amiss with the officers and Jones. Neighbors reported seeing police cars often parked at her home for long hours at night, he said.

"Somebody should have been triggered off," Loewenthal said. "Somebody should have known about it."

Police spokesman Wayne Shelor declined to comment Wednesday, saying department officials routinely do not speak about pending litigation.

Loewenthal had said in the past that Jones would sue the officers as well. He said Wednesday there are no plans to do that, though Jones may counter-sue the former officers in federal court.

Mehr and Pearn sued Jones last summer, claiming she has slandered them by making the accusations. Also in on that defamation suit is James Heinz, a former police sergeant who Jones said groped her and at one time tried to unzip her dress during a police call to her home.

Horne also planned to fire Heinz, but the sergeant convinced an assistant city manager at a hearing that the accusations were false. However, Heinz was found to be negligent in another duty, so he was demoted. Heinz also agreed to apply for retirement in January of this year, after he reached 20 years with the department.

Heinz in September applied for a disability pension. He remains a city employee, but is out on sick leave.

He has remained a paid employee past January because it will take time for the city to determine if he qualifies for disability retirement, said Joe Roseto, the city's personnel director.

Meanwhile, Mehr and Pearn appeared before a state Criminal Justice Training Commission panel this week for a hearing. The three-person panel found there is probable cause to move forward with efforts to strip Mehr and Pearn of their law enforcement certifications, which would prohibit them from being hired as police officers in Florida.

The former officers plan to fight that effort, said Bob Walker, their attorney.

"My clients are innocent of these baseless accusations and they welcome the opportunity to put the city and the (commission) to their burden of proving that any of this occurred," Walker said.

-- Chris Tisch can be reached at 445-4156 or tisch@sptimes.com .

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