D.C. Officer Charged with Sexual Abuse Remains Held without Bail

WTOP
March 19, 2015

http://wtop.com/dc/2015/03/d-c-officer-charged-with-sexual-abuse-remains-held-without-bail/

A.D.C. police officer and pastor charged with sexually abusing two teen girls waived his preliminary hearing Thursday and remains in jail without bail.

Darrell Best, 45 of Upper Marlboro, is on paid leave from the Metropolitan Police Department and is taking a sabbatical from the D.C. church, where he also worked as a pastor, since he was arrested Monday.

An assistant pastor is now running the God of a Second Chance Ministry Church in Southeast D.C.

Best appeared in court and whispered to his attorney during the short hearing, during which the defense requested that Best to be placed on house arrest. Best appeared annoyed when the judged ordered that he remained held in jail.

Best was demoted from the rank of sergeant to patrol officer in 2008 after two incidents of sexual misconduct in 2007 and 2008 that involved a female cadet and a female police officer.

A 16-year-old girl told police that Best, who was her pastor, sexually assaulted her three separate times beginning in December 2014. The assaults occurred while they girl was at the church for choir practice.

Another teen told police that she was assaulted in Best’s office on the 5th floor of police headquarters after he had taken her out to dinner in December 2014. She was 17 at the time and worked with her mother to clean Best’s church.

WTOP’s Dennis Foley contributed to this report.