What to Know
- A police officer in Westchester County was arrested and placed on administrative leave
- Charges claim the officer stalked, sexually abused, and burglarized a woman over a six-month period
- The 33-year-old officer has been placed on administrative leave and his department is "fully cooperating" with the investigation
A police officer in Westchester County was arrested and placed on administrative leave following allegations he stalked, sexually abused, and burglarized a woman in Peekskill, New York.
Peekskill Police Officer Michael Agovino was charged Saturday after an investigation and audio recording supported allegations the 33-year-old committed several crimes while on duty and in police uniform, a criminal complaint states.
The Westchester District Attorney's Office charged Agovino with sexual abuse in the first degree, stalking in the first degree, and burglary in the second degree for alleged crimes committed against the victim in the time between July 9, 2019 and January 22, 2020.
Agovino first met the woman on July 9 to investigate a larceny "allegedly perpetrated by the victim," the criminal complaint says. He met the woman that day, accused her of stealing money and demanded she take him to her apartment, the complaint says. That's where Agovino allegedly entered her home and sexually assaulted the woman, the complaint says.
The officer went back to her apartment on several more occasions between July 9 and August 1, the complaint says, where he used the threat of arrest to continue acts of sexual abuse. During these visits, Agovino allegedly used his position to threaten the woman and refused to let her take medication, the complaint states.
The district attorney's office claims an audio recording was captured on January 22, when Agovino returned to the woman's apartment, where he again subjected her to "unwanted sexual contact."
News
Anthony Scarpino, Westchester's district attorney, said the woman was never arrested and there has been no evidence she committed any crimes related to Agovino's alleged initial investigation.
After news broke of Agovino's arrest, the Peekskill Police Department released the following statement on Facebook Sunday morning:
"Police Officer Michael Agovino has been arrested and charged with several crimes alleged to have occurred while he was on duty. The City of Peekskill Police Department is fully cooperating with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office's investigation into these allegations. Officer Agovino has been placed on Administrative Leave until further notice."
Attorney information for Michael Agovino was not immediately known.
