A Columbus police vice officer could face the rest of his life in prison after being indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of holding two women against their will, granting them freedom only in exchange for sexual favors.

Andrew K. Mitchell, a 31-year division veteran, appeared in U.S. District Court on Monday and will remain in the custody of U.S. marshals until a detention hearing Wednesday afternoon.

Mitchell, 55, is charged with three counts of deprivation of rights while using his police authority, two counts of witness tampering and one count each of obstruction of justice and making false statements.

>>Read more: Columbus Police vice officer investigation: What we know now

The deprivation-of-rights charges involve two women, one of whom is believed to have been victimized twice, and each carries a maximum possible sentence of life in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman called Mitchell's actions a "nightmarish breach of trust," a sentiment echoed by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

"Police officers are heroes, not predators," Yost said. "When one goes bad ... it pulls respect down for all law enforcement."

The first instance of forced sexual conduct occurred in July 2017, four months after Mitchell joined the vice unit, according to the indictment. The other two instances occurred in September 2017 and spring 2018.

Mitchell was relieved of duty on Sept. 26 following the opening of an investigation that month into the vice unit by the FBI's Public Corruption Task Force.

Mitchell is accused of lying to federal agents who asked him if he had ever been sexually involved with a prostitute, Glassman said.

That same week, the FBI executed a search warrant at Mitchell's Sunbury-area home.

Mitchell is also accused of tampering with three witnesses by either threatening them, trying to persuade them not to testify before a federal grand jury or lying between Sept. 26 and December 2018, according to the indictment.

During Mitchell's initial appearance Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Kim said the officer should be detained pending his trial because he already had engaged in obstructive behavior during the investigation.

Mitchell’s attorney, Mark Collins, said his client "absolutely, 100 percent" denies all of the allegations against him.

The federal charges are unrelated to an on-duty shooting in which Mitchell fatally shot 23-year-old Donna Castleberry while working undercover on Aug. 23, 2018. However, Collins said he is concerned about how the timing of Mitchell's indictment and arrest will affect the upcoming grand jury review of the shooting.

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said the investigation into Castleberry's death is scheduled to be presented to a county grand jury in the next month. Castleberry's family told The Dispatch that hearing is scheduled for April 3-4.

"Is he going to get a fair shake in the grand jury, with all this publicity?" Collins asked. "Is he going to be testifying in jail clothes?"

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Castleberry stabbed Mitchell in the hand before the officer shot her multiple times while in an unmarked police vehicle on the 300 block of South Yale Avenue, police said at the time.

Collins said Mitchell has cooperated with federal investigators since September, when he provided them with a DNA swab, and has "turned over information they requested."

At the time of the shooting, an unrelated complaint of potential criminal misconduct had been filed against Mitchell, who was unaware of the complaint and had remained on duty.

Interim Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan said Monday that the community has "every right to be disgusted" by the news of Mitchell's arrest and the allegations against him. He said there are nearly 2,000 other officers who do the right thing, and he requested the community's continued support.

"Our officers are given tremendous power to keep our residents safe — and the overwhelming majority are dedicated to serving our residents honorably every day. But when an officer abuses that power, the City of Columbus is committed to holding him or her accountable," Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said in a statement.

Keith Ferrell, president of Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, said he is withholding comment until more information is available.

Glassman said the investigation into Mitchell and the vice unit is ongoing. Two other vice detectives, Whitney Lancaster and Steven Rosser, were relieved of duty as a part of the ongoing investigation.

Anyone with information about Mitchell or other officers engaged in possible criminal misconduct, or who believes he or she may have been a victim, is asked to call the FBI's Public Corruption Task Force at 614-849-1777.

Dispatch Reporter John Futty contributed to this story.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner