Former Chattanooga Police Officer Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Sexual Assault

 Desmond Logan, 35, a former officer with the Chattanooga Police Department (CPD), was sentenced by the Honorable Curtis L. Collier, U.S. District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Logan will serve 20 years in prison with three years of supervised release for crimes involving sexual misconduct while on duty. Logan previously pleaded guilty to two civil rights offenses on Sept. 12, 2019.

“The Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute officers who commit sexual assault,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “This case is a reminder that sexual assault allegations involving law enforcement officers should be fully investigated. The department will continue to take such allegations seriously and work to vindicate the Constitutional rights of those who are victimized by officers acting under color of law.”

“The actions of Desmond Logan jeopardized public safety and violated the trust of the citizens of Chattanooga he swore to protect. This case exhibits our continued efforts to prosecute those who would use their power to commit acts of violence and injustice against members of our community,” said U.S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey of the Eastern District of Tennessee. “Our office will continue to stand by and protect the victims of such crimes.”

"Civil Rights violations, particularly when they involve a member of law enforcement, are of tremendous concern,” said Special Agent in Charge Joe Carrico of the FBI’s Knoxville Field Office. “The entire law enforcement profession is tarnished when an officer betrays the oath to protect and serve. The FBI will vigorously investigate any officer or agent of the law who is breaking the rules that he or she is sworn to uphold or is violating the civil rights of others."

According to court documents filed in connection with the defendant’s guilty plea, the first offense occurred during the early morning hours of June 12, 2018. The defendant, while on duty as a CPD police officer, handcuffed and arrested K.B.V. Rather than transporting K.B.V. directly to the Hamilton County Jail, the defendant drove K.B.V. in his squad car to an empty and isolated parking lot. There, the defendant sexually assaulted K.B.V.

The second offense occurred on the evening of Jan. 2, 2016. The defendant, while working a security detail at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, entered the passenger seat of D.H.'s car and asked for a ride to his own car, which he claimed was parked in a different parking lot. The defendant then directed D.H. to an empty and isolated parking lot. He took out his taser and put it against D.H.'s leg, causing D.H. to fear that he would cause her further physical harm. When D.H. tried to escape, Logan prevented her from getting out of the car.

In addition to these two offenses, the defendant admitted as part of his guilty plea that he sexually assaulted two other women. In each instance, one on July 31, 2015, and the other on May 30, 2016, the defendant arrested each victim, and instead of transporting her to jail, drove her to a deserted area where he sexually assaulted her.

This case was investigated by the Knoxville Division of the FBI, with the support of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Brooks of the Eastern District of Tennessee and Special Litigation Counsel Fara Gold and Trial Attorney Olimpia Michel of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice prosecuted the case.