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Third LMPD Officer Indicted In Explorer Sexual Abuse Scandal

Kyeland Jackson

A federal grand jury indicted another officer connected with the Louisville Metro Police Department’s Explorer sexual abuse scandal.

Brad Schuhmann has been charged with deprivation of rights under the color of law for allegedly sexually abusing a minor in 2010 while working as a law enforcement officer. The indictment noted the offense involved the state crime of sexual abuse in the first degree; the Courier Journal reported last year that the commonwealth’s attorney’s office decided not to prosecute Schuhmann.

That office did prosecute two other former LMPD officers: Kenneth Betts, who resigned in 2014, and Brandon Wood, who was fired by the LMPD in 2017. Both faced state and federal charges, and are currently in prison.

That makes Schuhmann the third officer to be charged in connection with sexually abusing teenagers in the Explorer program, which was for young people interested in careers in law enforcement.

A special investigation released in 2018 found the LMPD made significant mistakes in its investigation into the LMPD Explorer scandal, but concluded there was no evidence of a cover-up.

Schuhmann resigned from LMPD last week. He spent 11 years with the department and had been administratively reassigned with suspended police powers since May 2017, according to LMPD spokesperson Dwight Mitchell. Schuhmann was assigned to the Major Crimes Unit up until last week.

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