Prince George's County Police Cpl. Tristan Thigpen Indicted, Accused Of Sexual Abuse Of Minor
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (WJZ) -- A Prince George's Police Department corporal has been indicted on multiple charges, including sexual abuse of a minor, stemming from an incident earlier this year, officials said Tuesday.
Cpl. Tristan Thigpen, 35, was indicted on charges of sexual abuse of a minor, second-degree assault, third-degree sex offense and fourth-degree sex offense. He was already suspended for another matter and is currently suspended without pay, the police department said.
Thigpen is accused of inappropriately touching a minor, who was a member of Thigpen's household, on April 1, officials said.
"These cases are very serious," Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy said during a news conference. "Any case involving sex abuse of a child is serious. When the allegations are made against an officer, it's particularly egregious, it's very concerning to our office."
Interim Police Chief Hector Velez echoed Braveboy's comments in a news release.
"The fact the allegations against this officer involve a child make them all the more troubling," Velez said. "The officer had already been on suspension when our department was made aware of this allegation. We immediately opened an investigation and brought this case to the State's Attorney's Office for possible prosecution."
Officials did not provide specifics on how they became aware of the allegations but Braveboy said it came to her office through "various law enforcement agencies."
Braveboy said her office doesn't know if there are other victims but encouraged them to come forward if they exist.
Thigpen joined the police department in 2006 previously worked in the Bureau of Patrol until he was suspended in 2018 following a DUI arrest in Nevada, the department said.
If found guilty of all charges, Thigpen could face up to 35 years in prison, officials said.
