A Metropolitan Police Department sergeant is facing criminal charges and has been pulled off duty after a fellow officer reported a pattern of unwanted touching earlier this year. The 26-year-old, identified in court filings as an MPD sergeant, surrendered to police on April 8 and was taken into custody under a D.C. Superior Court warrant. According to the documents, the alleged incidents took place in February and involved contact the complaining officer described as non-consensual.
Allegations from court documents
Investigators say the sergeant repeatedly stuck his finger in the victim's ear and, on or about February 19, touched the victim's butt with his foot. The conduct is described in charging papers as sexual in nature. The filings state that the actions were carried out "with the intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, and/or arouse" the victim.
As reported by FOX 5 DC, the sergeant has been charged with two counts of simple assault and one count of misdemeanor sexual abuse, and was arrested pursuant to a D.C. Superior Court warrant.
Chen's role at MPD
The Metropolitan Police Department's public Fifth District roster lists a Sgt. Jonathan Chen among its station sergeants. That entry places him in the Fifth District command and aligns with the departmental role described in the court filings and related public reporting.
Legal context
The offenses listed in the filings are misdemeanors under District of Columbia law. Simple assault is codified at D.C. Code, and misdemeanor sexual abuse is set out at D.C. Code. The latter provision includes penalties that can reach up to 180 days behind bars. Those statutes will frame how prosecutors handle the case and how the department evaluates any internal discipline.
What's next
Court records state that Chen surrendered at a district police station on April 8 and was arrested without incident. He has been placed on administrative leave while the criminal case proceeds in D.C. Superior Court, as reported by FOX 5 DC. It remains unclear when prosecutors will schedule the next hearings in the case or what additional internal actions MPD may take, and the matter is still under active review.
