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Calvert County Sheriff Cpl. James Wahlgren, 53, of Port Republic has been charged by criminal information with both misconduct in office and engaging in sexual intercourse with a person requesting police assistance, State Prosecutor Charlton Howard III announced this week.
According to the charging document, in March 2022, Wahlgren responded to the home of a woman who requested police assistance. He then transported her to an area hospital for treatment and evaluation, but not before giving his cellphone number to the woman "in case she needed further assistance.”
Officials say that less than a week later, the woman called Wahlgren while he was on duty and requested police assistance at her home related to a domestic dispute. Wahlgren responded to the woman’s home and then transported her to a nearby hotel in his police vehicle.
It is alleged that while at the hotel, Wahlgren entered the woman’s hotel room and had sexual intercourse with her. Investigators made note that Wahlgren had no relationship with her outside of his role as a law enforcement officer who was working at the time the sexual activity took place.
“The Office of the State Prosecutor is committed to ensuring the integrity of our state’s law enforcement agencies,” Howard said. “We will continue to investigate and hold accountable state and local law enforcement officers who abuse their position of public trust.”
Wahlgren has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the case.
The complete charging document can be found here.
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