A Baltimore City police officer charged with raping a 16-year-old girl at the Southeastern District Police Station will avoid jail time under a plea deal entered into Thursday.
Det. William Welch, 41, of Timonium, entered an Alford plea in Baltimore City Circuit Court to one count of misconduct in office and will be sentenced to three years of probation under the terms of the plea agreement, which calls for a 10-year suspended sentence.
Welch also must resign from the police department by Monday.
An Alford plea means Welch maintains his innocence but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him.
“We think it?s the best possible outcome for this case,” said Joseph Sviatko, a spokesman for the Baltimore City State?s Attorney?s Office, which dropped the rape charges. “We protect the victim from having to testify in open court. The defendant has a guilty verdict on his record and he?ll no longer be allowed to be a police officer in Baltimore or anywhere in Maryland.”
Baltimore police arrested the teenage girl July 16, 2006, on an outstanding Baltimore County warrant and held her at the Southeastern station.
After she was transported to Baltimore County, the girl told police that Welch had found a small amount of marijuana in her bag and told her she would have to perform a sex act on him to avoid drug charges.
Welch allowed the teen to flush the marijuana down a bathroom toilet and then took her to an interrogation room, where she bent over a chair while Welch had sex with her, prosecutors said.
Police recovered wet wipes from the scene with Welch?s DNA on them, prosecutors said.
Welch?s defense attorney, Warren Brown, said the plea deal was a good move for his client, who didn?t want to face a city jury.
“Baltimore City police officers aren?t held in high esteem by jurors,” Brown said. “My client doesn?t have to go to prison. He could have faced 100 years incarceration.”
While awaiting trial, police lost much of the evidence against Welch, including a sexual assault forensic evidence kit, clothing from Welch and the victim, wet wipes and DNA evidence.
However, DNA samples taken from those items were not lost, allowing authorities to still link them to Welch.
Brown said the missing evidence still might have helped his client, who has maintained his innocence.
“It cast aspersions on the professionalism of the police department,” Brown said.
Maryland State Police officials have since agreed to handle evidence in criminal cases brought against Baltimore officers.
