Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: Rape allegations after Ofc Robert Collins pulls women over

Discussion in 'Police, Jailers, Prison Guards, Firefighters, etc.' started by News Readers, Jan 27, 2019.

  1. News Readers

    News Readers The Paperboy

    upload_2020-3-14_9-46-47.png upload_2019-2-8_21-9-29.png upload_2019-2-8_21-3-15.png
    Robert Matthew Collins (left & middle) & Mark Eric Icker (right)


    Allegations highlight power differential when cops pull women over


    In the span of a month, two Luzerne County police officers were charged with using their badges to pressure women into having sex. While experts say such conduct is not the norm in the law enforcement community, the cases highlight the power differential at play when cops — often with little supervision — pull women over on dark roads late at night. “Rape is about power and control,” said Paul Lindenmuth, chairman of the Criminal Justice & Sociology Department at King’s College. “What better power and control than being a police officer? Having that control. Having the ability to put ...


    While the trend of cops committing sexual assault has been documented on the national level with some regularity, the notion of police officers pressuring women for sex eluded Luzerne County until last month when part-time Ashley police officer Mark Icker was charged with pressuring two women into performing oral sex on him to avoid arrest. Earlier this month, police hit Icker, 29, of Dickson City, with additional charges alleging he pulled down a third woman’s shirt and groped her following a traffic stop.


    Then on Tuesday, Wilkes-Barre police officer Robert Collins, 53, of Wright Twp., was charged with targeting women he encountered on duty and then demanding sex in exchange for avoiding arrest. Four women ranging in age from 25 to 36 came forward and told the investigators that Collins — who until recently was a highly visible community policing officer for the department — sexually assaulted them between August 2013 and December 2014. Three of the women reported being directed to perform oral sex on Collins to avoid being arrested for possessing drugs or drug paraphernalia, while the fourth reported Collins groped ...


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    https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/...ferential-when-cops-pull-women-over-1.2438124
     
  2. News Readers

    News Readers The Paperboy

    Bad cops abuse power and control, experts say

    In the span of a month, two Luzerne County police officers were charged with using their badges to pressure women into having sex. While experts say such conduct is not the norm in the law enforcement community, the cases highlight the power differential at play when cops — often with little supervision — pull women over on dark roads late at night. “Rape is about power and control,” said Paul Lindenmuth, chairman of the Criminal Justice & Sociology Department at King’s College. “What better power and control than being a police officer? Having that control. Having the ability to put ...


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    https://www.standardspeaker.com/news/bad-cops-abuse-power-and-control-experts-say-1.2438028
     
  3. News Readers

    News Readers The Paperboy

    Former WBPD officer Collins accused by PSP of raping four additional women

    A former city police officer already facing allegations of sexually assaulting women while on duty was hit with new charges on Wednesday related to four additional accusers, and prosecutors believe there could be more victims who have yet to come forward. State police and prosecutors say Robert Collins extorted sexual acts from the women, forcing one of them to expose her breasts to him inside police headquarters three years ago. “Robert Collins abused his power in the most shameful of ways,” state Attorney General Josh Shapiro said during a press conference at the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Wyoming. “The ...


    • A 33-year-old woman told state police Collins forced her to perform a sex act on him sometime during the summer of 2006. She claimed she was walking in the first block of South Main Street when Collins, in full uniform and driving a marked cruiser, stopped to speak with her. Collins asked her if she was “clean,” and asked if he could search her purse, spilling the contents on the cruiser’s hood. Collins discovered two pills and told her she could be charged because the tablets were not in a pill bottle. She claimed Collins told her she can ...


    • A 33-year-old woman told state police Collins stopped her while she was walking on South Grant Street in October of November 2015. Collins asked the woman for her name, which he processed, and asked to search her. Collins allegedly found four heroin packets on the woman and asked her if she wanted the drugs to disappear in exchange for oral sex or she can go to jail. She walked to a secluded area as Collins followed her in the cruiser. When they reached an alley, she claimed Collins exposed himself and she performed a sex act. Afterwards, Collins returned ...


    • A 46-year-old woman, who had previous encounters with Collins, said he stopped her while she was driving a vehicle sometime in May 2016. The woman did not have a driver’s license and begged Collins not to charge her. A passenger in the vehicle who had a driver’s license was permitted to leave with the woman. Several days later, she claimed Collins pulled up to her in the area of Carey Avenue and Oregon Street. As they talked, she asked Collins about the citation for driving with a suspended license. Collins drove the woman behind the Murray Complex, where she ...


    • A 26-year-old woman claimed she was in a vehicle with other people that was stopped by Collins on Carey Avenue in June 2012. Collins told the woman there was a warrant for her arrest and handcuffed her before placing her in a cruiser. Her friends were allowed to drive away. She claimed Collins asked if her she wanted the make the problem go away but she did not respond. Collins drove the woman to a dirt road off River Street where he asked her again “Is there anything that you want to do.” When she didn’t answer, she claimed ...


    Investigation ongoing: Shapiro, speaking about the case Wednesday at the Pennsylvania State Police Wyoming Barracks, did not respond to a question about whether Collins’ bail would be revoked in connection with the earlier cases, but didn’t shy away from saying an investigation into Collins is still ongoing.” “He is facing decades behind bars,” Shapiro said. “My office and the PSP are here to help and hold (Collins) and any other perpetrator accountable.” “The perpetrator in this case in Robert Collins, not the victims,” the AG added.


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    https://www.timesleader.com/news/74...ccused-by-psp-of-raping-four-additional-women
     
  4. TMP

    TMP Himself

    Another lawsuit involving Robert Collins:


    Lawsuit alleging assault filed against 2 W-B police officers

    27 February 2016


    City police mocked a stuttering man, tackled his disabled wife, threw their 11-year-old daughter into a wall and threatened to shoot their puppy, a federal lawsuit against the city and officers alleges. Dawn Zavec, of Weston Lane, and her daughter, identified only as M.Z., filed suit Thursday against the city and police officers Robert Collins and Brian Gist, alleging the officers illegally entered their home and assaulted them. The complaint, filed by attorneys Barry Dyller and Shelley Centini, alleges the actions took place Nov. 10, 2014, as police were responding to a parking complaint between Zavec’s husband, Joseph Zavec, and ...


    https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/...filed-against-2-w-b-police-officers-1.2012150
     
  5. News Readers

    News Readers The Paperboy

    State attorney seeks to use preliminary hearing testimony against former cop Collins

    A woman who alleged Robert Collins sexually assaulted her while he was on-duty as a Wilkes-Barre police officer has died. The woman, 26, died in December from an accidental drug overdose, according to the Luzerne County Coroner’s Office. She was one of eight women who alleged Collins, 54, sexually assaulted them while he was on-duty. After the woman’s death, Senior Deputy Attorney General Bernard A. Anderson filed a motion in Luzerne County Court seeking to have the woman’s preliminary hearing testimony be presented during Collins’ trial, which is set to begin March 17 before Judge David W. Lupas. A hearing ...


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    https://www.timesleader.com/news/77...-hearing-testimony-against-former-cop-collins
     
  6. News Readers

    News Readers The Paperboy

    State attorney seeks to prohibit former cop Collins from using criminal histories of alleged victims

    A state attorney is requesting to prohibit lawyers for former Wilkes-Barre police officer Robert Collins from introducing the criminal histories of seven women who accused the former lawman of sexually assaulting them. Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas has scheduled a hearing Monday on a motion filed by state Senior Deputy Attorney General Bernard A. Anderson. Anderson is seeking to prevent Collins’ lawyers, Evan T. L. Hughes and Jordan J. Freeman, from impeaching seven women about their criminal arrests and/or convictions. The seven women have a history of arrests with three having been arrested on prostitution charges and others on ...


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    https://www.timesleader.com/news/77...m-using-criminal-histories-of-alleged-victims
     
  7. News Readers

    News Readers The Paperboy

    Attorneys for former cop Collins seeking to prohibit ‘11th hour’ evidence

    Just days before the start of trial for embattled former Wilkes-Barre police officer Robert Matthew Collins, his lawyers claim they received nearly 70 pages of documents from the state Office of Attorney General. Collins’ attorneys, Evan T.L. Hughes and Jordan J. Freeman, said they received the documents March 10 and won’t have time to review the materials before the start of Collins’ trial on Tuesday. Hughes and Freeman are seeking to have Senior Deputy Attorney General Bernard A. Anderson banned from using the documents they say they received “at the 11th hour.” In a related issue, Luzerne County Judge David ...


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    https://www.timesleader.com/news/77...ollins-seeking-to-prohibit-11th-hour-evidence