GREENVILLE, PA. Ex-officer faces jail

The complaint says the acts were committed while the officer was on duty.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- A former borough police officer is facing up to 30 years in jail and fines totaling $67,500 if convicted on 12 counts of indecent exposure, indecent assault, open lewdness and official oppression.
William G. Roesch, 47, of Hamburg Road, was arraigned on the charges Thursday before District Justice William Fagley, who released him on an unsecured bond pending a preliminary hearing at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 6.
He offered only a "no comment" as he left Fagley's office.
The charges were filed by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office which has been investigating complaints against Roesch since February 2002.
Attorney General Mike Fisher said the charges stem from indecent sexual activity Roesch is accused of performing while on duty as a Greenville-West Salem police officer over a period of up to nine years.
Roesch served 24 years with the department before allegations made against him by women working in the police department surfaced in December 2001.
He was placed on paid suspension. He resigned from the force in April 2002.
About charges
The charges allege that Roesch exposed himself to the women at various times, groped the breasts of two of them and masturbated in front of them, all while on duty.
Fisher said his office launched an investigation at the request of James Esptein, Mercer County district attorney, to avoid any possibility of a conflict of interest because Epstein's office had worked with Roesch and other Greenville-West Salem officers in the past.
Evidence against Roesch was presented to a statewide investigating grand jury which recommended filing criminal charges, Fisher said.
The grand jury found that Roesch groped and fondled female civilian employees of the police department and reportedly exposed his genitals to them, Fisher said.
He said the evidence included an allegation from one woman who called the police department to complain about obscene telephone calls she was receiving and Roesch came to take a report.
While in her home, the woman said Roesch began fondling himself and then began to masturbate in front of her, Fisher said.
Roesch is charged with three counts of indecent exposure, alleging that at various times between 1996 and 2001, he exposed his genitals in a public place.
Additional counts
He also is charged with two counts of indecent assault, alleging that he had indecent sexual contact with two female police department employees without their consent between 1993 and 2001.
Three counts of open lewdness charge him with exposing himself and/or masturbating in front of three female employees between 1996 and 2001.
Four counts of official oppression charge him with groping the breasts of two female employees between 1993 and 2001 and exposing himself and masturbating in front of two female employees between 1996 and 1997.
Paul E. vonGeis Jr., senior deputy attorney general, is prosecuting the case and said Roesch could face up to 30 years in prison and fines totaling $67,500 if convicted on all counts.
It is unlikely Roesch would receive a sentence that severe, however, vonGeis said.