FBI photo of Suffolk County Police Officer Christopher McCoy, charged with civil rights violation, is seen in this image released in New York, NY, U.S., July 27, 2017. Courtesy FBI/Handout via REUTERS

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Long Island, New York, police officer was released on a $500,000 bond following a court appearance on Thursday after he was charged with forcing a woman he arrested to perform oral sex on him in a police station in March.

Suffolk County Officer Christopher McCoy, 38, appeared in federal court on Long Island on Thursday afternoon, charged on one count of violating the woman’s civil rights.

On March 16, the defendant and his partner arrested the woman, who was the subject of several warrants in connection with unresolved vehicle and traffic offenses, according to U.S. prosecutors.

They said McCoy assaulted her in an isolated room on two separate occasions following her arrest, grabbing her by the jaw and saying, “Let’s go, don’t make this hard,” according to a criminal complaint made public on Thursday.

“It’s not appropriate to comment on the reliability of this complaining witness or the $40 million lawsuit she filed so quickly,” McCoy’s lawyer Edward Sapone said on Thursday. “Officer McCoy had served the community without incident for 12 years. We will have a lot to say at the appropriate time in court as the case unfolds.”

The woman, who was not named in the criminal complaint, filed a civil lawsuit in May against McCoy, his partner and Suffolk County seeking at least $5 million on each of eight counts.

McCoy was terminated from employment as a result of an FBI investigation, according to the civil lawsuit.

While he initially denied the charges, McCoy admitted to FBI agents on April 6 that he engaged in oral sex with the woman after they told him they had a warrant to collect a DNA sample, the criminal complaint said. The FBI later analyzed the sample and matched it to a stain left on the woman’s shirt as a result of the encounter.

The Suffolk County law department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the civil case.