Police officer charged with raping teen submits resignation

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – An Alabama police lieutenant charged with forcibly raping a teen relative has resigned.

Al.com reports Birmingham Police Lt. Pete Williston submitted his resignation Tuesday. Defence attorney Scott Morro says Williston is remorseful and he and his family along with the police department need “healing.”

Morris Police Chief Mike Nazarchyk says a 24-year-old woman reported the abuse in May. She told police that Williston sexually abused her from 2008 to 2011, starting when she was 14 years old.

Nazarchyk says police investigated and turned the findings over to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, which charged him with forcible rape. Williston was arrested in a hospital where he had been admitted for suicide concerns, and was released from jail Tuesday on $50,000 bond.

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Information from: The Birmingham News, http://www.al.com/birminghamnews