PROVO Utah (ABC4 News) – A disgraced police officer will sit in the Salt Lake County jail for the next six months.
Former Provo police officer Jeffery Westerman pleaded guilty in December to attempted forcible sodomy and obstruction of justice and Thursday a Provo judge sent him to jail.
Last summer Westerman responded to a traffic accident in Provo and pulled focused his attention on one of those involved.
The 29-year old California woman said Westerman drove her vehicle to an isolated parking lot. And then returned to get his police cruiser and parked it alongside her vehicle.
He accused Leslie who did not want her last name revealed of driving drunk.
''That's when he said I was going to jail for a felony dui,” she said after Thursday’s sentencing.
She said Westerman became angry. Leslie said she got into her car and he threatened her with jail.
"That's when I had to pull down my shirt,” she said.
He fondled her inside the car.
“It wasn't nice,” Leslie said. “It hurt."
"I asked can I go now and he says 'nope I'm going to have to do this one more time,'" she said.
He attacked her again and left. At first Westerman denied anything happened between the two. But surveillance video of the parking lot showed Westerman driving her vehicle into the parking lot.
A few minutes later, the surveillance showed Westerman driving his police cruiser into the lot and parked in alongside hers.
Westerman was caught in a lie and eight months later, he apologized in a courtroom.
“I was supposed to serve and protect, I didn't do that,” he told Judge David Mortensen. “Instead I used my position to satisfy my sexual desires."
Despite the apology, Leslie’s father is still angry.
“I was in a rage,” said Patrick. “There's disbelief but there's also a lot of anger. I worry about her now.”
Inside the courtroom, Patrick told the judge that Westerman was a "predator with a badge."
Westerman’s guilt has created headaches for prosecutors.
They were counting on him to testify in other criminal cases.
"He's now a disgraced fallen officer and who has no credibility and availability for that matter leaving us to have to plead these cases out,” said deputy prosecutor Craig Johnson.
As for the 29-year old victim, the experience has affected her trust in law enforcement. She said she wanted to pursue a career as a police officer. But she said not anymore.
"When I see a cop I just freeze,” Leslie said. “I have flashbacks. I feel like I'm being stalked."
A citizen filing a complaint against a police officer isn't easy, but Leslie knew she had to do it.
“I would never wish this on anyone,” she said. “It was the most terrifying fifteen minutes of my life. I knew if I didn't get him off the street i would feel guilt for the rest of my life.
