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Deputy rapes woman at traffic stop and tells her she won’t be charged, Tennessee cops say

A deputy was arrested after investigators said he raped a woman during a traffic stop in Tennessee.
A deputy was arrested after investigators said he raped a woman during a traffic stop in Tennessee.

A deputy raped a woman during a traffic stop and now faces charges, Tennessee officials say.

Jonathan Kelly, now a former Perry County deputy, was charged with one count of aggravated rape and one count of official misconduct by a grand jury on Wednesday, Feb. 22, according to a Feb. 28 news release from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. He was arrested on Monday.

McClatchy News reached out to officials about when Kelly had left the sheriff’s office and did not immediately receive a response.

Officials said they began investigating Kelly, 31, in December 2021 after receiving a complaint that he sexually assaulted a woman during a traffic stop.

Agents found Kelly told the woman she would not be charged with a crime if she engaged in sexual contact with him, according to officials.

Perry County is about 90 miles southwest of Nashville.

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This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Deputy rapes woman at traffic stop and tells her she won’t be charged, Tennessee cops say."

Moira Ritter
mcclatchy-newsroom
Moira Ritter covers real-time news for McClatchy. She is a graduate of Georgetown University where she studied government, journalism and German. Previously, she reported for CNN Business.
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