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PONCA CITY, Okla. – A former Oklahoma police officer has been arrested for allegedly molesting a 12-year-old girl.

On Thursday evening, investigators took 45-year-old Matthew Vassar into custody.

On Oct. 11, investigators with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations and the Ponca City Police Department began looking into the allegations against Vassar.

The allegations came to light after the alleged victim told a friend that Vassar had been inappropriately touching her for the past several years.

At that point, family members of the friend called the victim’s mother to tell her about the alleged abuse. The victim’s mother then immediately called police.

The arrest warrant claims that during an interview with officials, the victim said that she “didn’t know what Vassar was doing to her was wrong. As [the victim] got older and had watched a video about puberty and sex at school, she learned what Vassar was doing to her was wrong.”

The victim told investigators that she was afraid to tell anyone because she didn’t think anyone would believe her, adding that she was scared of Vassar.

The probable cause affidavit claims that Vassar resigned on Thursday from the Perry Police Department after the OSBI made multiple attempts to contact him for an interview.

Vassar was arrested in Ponca City on Thursday evening for lewd acts with a child.

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