'Given his life back': Former Wilmington officer accused of rape acquitted on 3 of 4 charges

Isabel Hughes | Delaware News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Jury mostly sides with former Wilmington officer accused of rape, acquitting him of 3 of 4 charges On Tuesday, a New Castle County jury delivered a mixed verdict against the former Wilmington police officer accused of rape.

After five days of he said, she said testimony, a New Castle County jury mostly sided with a former Wilmington police officer who was accused of forcing a woman to perform oral sex or be sent to jail.

Cpl. Thomas Oliver Jr. was convicted of official misconduct, a misdemeanor, but the jury acquitted him of felony second-degree rape, sexual extortion and having sex with a person in police custody.

Oliver was initially charged in February, and resigned from the Wilmington Police Department in August.

The jury reached its verdict at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday after sending two notes to the judge — one on Monday and one on Tuesday.

"(I'm) pretty thrilled — very happy with what the jury did, though they were out for a very long time for a case like this," said Eugene Maurer, one of Oliver's defense attorneys. "(Oliver) is exultant, of course. He's thrilled."

Throughout the trial, prosecutors painted a picture of a man who abused his position of power to force the woman, who was wanted for a misdemeanor probation violation, to give him oral sex in his patrol car.

Neither Oliver nor his attorneys, Maurer and Elise Wolpert, ever denied that Oliver received oral sex. But they all claimed the encounter was consensual and that Oliver didn't know the woman was wanted.

OLIVER'S TESTIMONY: 'I feel awful, I'm embarrassed': Former officer testifies to receiving oral sex in patrol car, says it was consensual

"There's no evidence that force was ever used, or threat," Maurer said during closing arguments Monday.

Deputy Attorney General Sonia Augusthy rejected that claim in her closing arguments, saying Oliver did, in fact, know about the warrant and used that to extort sex from the woman.

"There was nothing equal about the bargaining power between these two," Augusthy said. "He had the power to arrest her, and she had no choice but to submit."

The jury's verdict came about a day and a half after it began deliberating Monday afternoon, something Maurer said worried him slightly.

"I had hoped they might come back quickly because the complainant had given so many different versions of what happened, but they didn't," he said. "Obviously they gave (the woman) credence and paid very close attention."

Varying accounts of what occurred

During the trial, prosecutors and Oliver's defense team agreed on two key points: the oral sex happened, and it was wrong.

The two sides disagreed about much more, however, namely what Oliver actually knew about the woman that October day.

According to testimony from both the woman and Oliver, the two first interacted on Wilmington's East Side in midafternoon.

Oliver said Monday he had been called to East 10th Street and Guyer Avenue at about 2:30 p.m. for reports of a fight, but when he got there, he found no fight. He said he parked on the side of the street in case the people who were arguing came back.

That's when he first encountered the woman, who he said told him, "You're a sexy cop." Oliver also said she invited him to her home once he finished his shift.

The woman's initial statement to police corroborates some of that claim.

In a recorded statement taken by a Wilmington detective hours after the oral sex, the woman said she and Oliver had spoken earlier in the day, and that she had told him he was "nice looking." She also relayed to him where she might be later.

WOMAN'S TESTIMONY: Woman testifies at rape trial of former cop: 'He was going to lock me up'

The two accounts largely diverge after that.

In the initial statement, the woman told the detective that when she got into Oliver's patrol car later that evening she told him about her warrant.

On the stand, she said she recalled him asking her, in response, if she wanted to "go to jail."

Both she and prosecutors claimed, during trial, that Oliver used the warrant to extort oral sex, something Oliver repeatedly denied.

The woman also said that after Oliver ejaculated, he threw $3 at her and told her to get out of his patrol vehicle.

Oliver denied those claims Monday, saying he "absolutely did not" throw money at her or force her out of his car after he was finished.

He also said he did not know about the warrant, arguing the oral sex was consensual and she came on to him.

TRIAL DAY 1: Attorney for former cop: Patrol-car sex with wanted woman was consensual

Oliver did admit, however, what he did was wrong, saying he has been asking himself why he did what he did for the past 14 months.

"I don't know (why)," he said Monday. "I feel awful; I'm embarrassed to admit it."

Oliver did not comment after the jury's verdict Wednesday, though he and his family hugged and smiled after the decision was read in the courtroom.

Family members also said they were relieved and had their "faith restored in the justice system."

During closing arguments, Maurer argued that Oliver's remorse should be taken into consideration. He said Oliver has already been punished for the October 2018 incident.

"Everyone in this room can agree that Mr. Oliver's conduct on Oct. 16 was inappropriate, misguided and unbecoming of a police officer, a wrong and horrible thing to do," Maurer said. "He's been punished for that — he resigned after (Wilmington police) moved to get rid of him, as they should have.

"But he forthrightly, vehemently and adamantly denies that he committed any of the criminal acts that he's been charged with."

COMMUNITY PRAISE: Wilmington cop accused of rape once lauded as 'good community officer'

Augusthy was less sympathetic.

"He knew (the woman) had too much to lose to refuse him; she was picked for a reason," Augusthy said. "With the authority, he had as a police officer, he exploited those vulnerabilities, and he is guilty of the crimes charged."

Mat Marshall, a spokesman for the Delaware Department of Justice, said prosecutors were grateful for the official misconduct guilty verdict.

"We are proud of our prosecutors’ dedication to this case over the last several months," Marshall said. "The Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust was established to take on these hardest of cases, the ones involving victims who face enormous power differentials.

"We will continue to do everything in our power to secure justice whenever we can, and to hold every criminal accountable — no matter his or her position.”

Oliver will be sentenced on the misdemeanor charge at a later date.

"His career as a police officer is over, but as we told the jury, he's kind of been given his life back," Maurer said. "He can go forward now with things."

Send story tips or ideas to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2785. For all things breaking news, follow her on Twitter at @izzihughes_