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Former Commerce City Police Officer Charged With Unlawful Sexual Contact

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (CBS4)- A former police officer with Commerce City has been charged with unlawful sexual contact. Investigators have set up a tip line for the possibility that there may be more victims who have not come forward.

Former Officer John Reinhart was issued a summons for the charges on Friday.

Dave Young, District Attorney with the 17th Judicial District, said a female reported an incident that occurred during an traffic stop in September 2015 that led to an investigation and filing of charges.

john reinhart
John Reinhart (credit: Commerce City Police)

"These charges stem from incidents that started in September as well as December of last year," said Young. "The charge of sexual contact is an unlawful touching of a sexual nature, it is not sexual assault or rape and it is a class one misdemeanor."

Reinhart, 22, has been charged with three counts of unlawful sexual contact concerning three different victims.

"Simultaneously my Professional Standards Unit began an audit of cases involving the officer, that info was shared with CBI and ultimately two other victims were uncovered," said Smith.

"He's charged with three counts. Each count carries a potential sentence to the county jail of six months to two years, a fine of anywhere from $500 to $5,000," said Young.

Young announced the charges on Monday morning.

The Commerce City Police Department placed Reinhart on paid administrative leave Feb. 17 and he resigned from the police department on March 11.

"The Commerce City Police Department places the highest value on delivering exceptional service to our residents and upholding the public's trust. It is for these reasons I'm very disappointed to learn that a former employee of my organization is accused of violating the law," said Commerce City Police Chief Troy Smith.

Reinhart was hired as an officer in Commerce City in August 2014. Investigators intend to examine 2,500 cases in relation to Reinhart.

"I want to recognize the victim in this case for coming forward without her having the courage to come forward we probably would never have learned about the other conduct in this investigation," said Smith.

Reinhart was issued a summons on March 11 and was not taken into police custody. He is scheduled to appear in Adams County Court on May 5.

Anyone who has information about the investigation or other incidents either regarding Reinhart or any other officer in Commerce City is asked to call the tip line set up by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation: 303.239.4611.

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