A temporary restraining order against a San Benito County
Sheriff’s deputy accused of harassing a Hollister woman remains in
effect until the middle of August, when an internal investigation
into the deputy’s conduct should be concluded.
Hollister – A temporary restraining order against a San Benito County Sheriff’s deputy accused of harassing a Hollister woman remains in effect until the middle of August, when an internal investigation into the deputy’s conduct should be concluded.
Deputy Jack Smiley and Rachel Sanchez, who accused Smiley of sexually assaulting her and continually harassing her at her home, were in court Tuesday where they mutually agreed to stay away from each other until Aug. 16, when both parties will go back to court and most likely officially terminate the restraining order, according to her attorney, Bill Marder.
Hollister police investigated Sanchez’s accusation that Smiley assaulted her at Hazel Hawkins Hospital while she was unconscious but could not substantiate the claim, and District Attorney John Sarsfield declined to file charges. Marder said that Sanchez may sue Smiley and the county anyway.
“I want to be very certain of everything before I sue,” Marder said. “I want to hear Mr. Smiley’s side of things, if at all possible, to see what his explanation is, first.”
Smiley’s attorney Steven Cohn said there is a reasonable explanation for Smiley’s presence at Sanchez’s home, and that the deputy never touched the woman – who had a blood alcohol level of .36 when she claims the crime occurred.
Cohn said Smiley went to her home several times in a one-month period in an attempt to arrest her estranged husband for violation of a restraining order Sanchez filed against him.
Smiley is on administrative leave pending completion of the internal investigation. At that point point he faces a range of possible actions, from being put back on patrol with no disciplinary action taken all the way up to possible termination.
Cohn said if Sanchez sues the county and it goes to trial, he plans to have doctors who attended to Sanchez at the hospital testify that Smiley was never alone with the woman and that he could not have done what she alleged he did.
Cohn also disputes Sanchez’s claims, which she included in her request for a restraining order filed with the San Benito County Superior Court in April, that Smiley came by her home about twice a week and asked her to be his “beat wife,” which is someone an officer sleeps with while on duty.
Cohn said Smiley went by Sanchez’s home twice or possibly three times in an attempt to follow up on a restraining order she filed against her estranged husband, and that at no time was Smiley’s conduct questionable.
“We have a troubled individual who now brings charges against the county for money, including these outrageous allegations at the hospital – which occurred at the time when she appears to be unconscious but is apparently prepared to testify to,” Cohn said. “By all accounts this officer’s a good guy – he’s a nice man – and the community will speak for him.”
Sanchez’s complaint and subsequent restraining order stemmed from an incident in March when Smiley took her into custody for being drunk in public with a .36 blood alcohol level at Daisy’s Bar in San Juan Bautista. She alleged that after Smiley apprehended her, the deputy sexually assault her with his fingers at the hospital after transporting her from the jail for the public intoxication. Sanchez, who says she takes medication for psychological disorders, said she didn’t remember what happened until after she was released from the hospital.
She also alleged that he began calling her at home until she finally changed her phone number and that the deputy would stop by her home while on duty often.
One of Sanchez’s neighbors, Janet Finch, signed an affidavit stating she saw Smiley visit Sanchez’s home at least twice a week.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
