Dc Cop Accused of Sexually Assaulting Teens Denied Bond
By Bruce Leshan
he D.C. police officer accused of sexually assaulting two teenagers had twice been in trouble earlier for alleged sexual misconduct. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah McClellan says Officer Darrell Best attacked a 20-year-old police cadet at the police academy in 2007. He allegedly cornered her in a cloakroom, shut the door and fondled her breasts and buttocks. Then, in October 2008 at the Fifth District police station, Best allegedly told another officer he wanted to take her to a hotel room and give her a massage – and then hit her buttocks. In that case, police supervisors demoted him from sergeant to officer. That was all years before the latest allegation that he attacked two teens in the last few months. In court Thursday, Best waived his right to a preliminary hearing on four counts, including sexual assault of a minor while armed. The judge said he was admitting that prosecutors had probable cause to believe he had forced himself on a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old. Best allegedly attacked the 17-year-old in his office at police headquarters and the 16-year-old in his office at a Southeast D.C. church where he serves as founder and senior pastor. The judge called him a danger to the community and refused to set bail that might get him out of jail pending trial. Family members screamed and cursed at reporters and photographers after the hearing. Best's lawyer, Elliott Queen, tried to get him released. He argued that the officer and pastor was neither a danger nor a flight risk. But the judge wasn't buying that. McClellan says other victims have been coming forward to accuse Best of abusing them too.
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