Phillip M. Bailey, and Andrew Wolfson

The Courier-Journal

The former Louisville police officer accused of raping a boy in the Explorer program had previously been investigated for inappropriate contact with a teenage girl in the same program, the Courier-Journal has learned. That investigation was closed by police Chief Steve Conrad after Officer Kenneth Betts submitted his resignation.

Betts and current Officer Brandon Wood are the two primary defendants in a lawsuit filed last week alleging they raped a teenage boy in the program and that the department covered it up.

Conrad initiated an investigation of Betts in July 2013 for possible "improper contact with a female Explorer." The investigation ended in April 2014, one month after Betts submitted his resignation. He left the department May 1, 2014.

"No further action need be taken," Conrad wrote in an internal memo.

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Conrad did not immediately respond to questions Wednesday afternoon about the 2013 allegations against Betts, whether he was removed from the Explorer program because of them, or whether any changes were made in the program for teenagers interested in law enforcement.

In the suit filed last week, a former male Explorer identified only as N.C. says he was sexually abused by Betts and Wood from 2011 to 2013 and that the abuse occurred in the officers' homes and police cruisers. The suit also names as defendants the city, the police department and the Boy Scouts of America, which runs the Explorer program with police.

Wood’s lawyer, Steve Schroering, said last week that his client maintains his innocence, while attorney Brian Butler, who represents Betts, declined to comment.

Betts was investigated by LMPD's Professional Standards Unit, which looks into violations of department policy, from July 2013 to April 2014; he and Wood have been under investigation by the department's Public Integrity Unit, which looks into criminal activity, since September 2016.

In his resignation letter to Conrad, Betts said he had been fighting an eight-month battle with cancer that "for sure opened my eyes to appreciate life and opportunities." He made no mention of the investigation.

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On Monday, Mayor Greg Fischer suspended the Explorer program after the Courier-Journal broke the details of the suit. He said the suit's "allegations represent an appalling betrayal of trust and abuse of power."

Fischer's office did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment about Conrad's decision to close the earlier Betts investigation.

Boy Scouts spokeswoman Kelly Bedtelyon previously said in an email that when Betts was accused of inappropriate behavior, the organization acted to remove him from the program and block him from participating in other Scouting programs.

Bedtelyon said police officers participating in the Explorer program are required to comply with Scout rules designed to protect children, including one that requires more than one adult to accompany Scouts on outings and another prohibiting one-on-one social media contacts. She also said that officers, despite undergoing background checks to join the force, are required to undergo the same “rigorous background checks” as other Scout volunteers.

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Betts and Wood participated in the Explorer program as youths before joining the police department, according to their personnel files. Betts was named Explorer of the Year in 2004.

After Betts left the Louisville police, he briefly worked part-time for the Audubon Park police. Wood remains with the Louisville department on administrative assignment.

Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at 502-582-4775 or pbailey@courier-journal.com. Reporter Andrew Wolfson can be reached at 502-582-7189 or awolfson@courier-journal.com.