A police officer in Columbus, Ohio who allegedly paid at least three women for sex while he was on duty pleaded guilty to "dereliction of duty" on Monday -- and is keeping his job while he is on probation.
According to Columbus' 10TV, Officer Randall Mayhew got a plea deal when he pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty, which led prosecutors to drop the three counts of solicitation and three counts of prostitution against him. As the Columbus Dispatch reported, the 17-year Columbus Police Department veteran got "two years’ probation, 30 hours of community service and fined him $150 in addition to court costs." He was initially sentenced to 90 days in jail, but the judge presiding over his case immediately suspended the sentence.
Three women accused Mayhew of paying them for sex while on duty, and two said the act occurred in his police cruiser. Another also said she was afraid the officer would take her to jail if she didn't comply.
One of the women who accused him, 30-year-old Nancy Collins, said Mayhew paid her $40 to have sex with her in her house a few weeks prior to Thanksgiving in 2015.
"Collins said she met Mayhew when she was walking down the street," the Dispatch noted. "They chatted for about a week before they had sex for the first time. He would pull up in his police cruiser and tell her to get in, she said. She said they had unprotected sex three or four more times in his car. He often gave her cash, Marlboro Red cigarettes and Mountain Dew, Collins told investigators."
Along with his probation, community service and fees, Mayhew was also ordered to attend "John School," a program for "Johns," or men who solicit sex for money.
When asked if there were concerns about Mayhew keeping his job after his plea deal, Columbus City Attorney's Office spokeswoman Lara Baker-Morrish told 10TV that he was attending John School for that reason, and that CPD's police chief would "address his employment concerns."
10TV also notes that Mayhew still denies he ever paid the women to have sex with him.
Watch an interview with one of Mayhew's accusers earlier this year below, via Columbus' NBC4.
