Veteran Oregon Police Officer Guilty of Sex Crimes
Veteran Oregon Police Officer Guilty of Sex Crimes
On July 24, 2013, Stefan Zeltvay, a 17-year veteran of Oregon’s Eugene Police Department (EPD), pleaded guilty to sex crimes against six women, including co-workers and a fellow officer’s wife.
Zeltvay, 44, was hired by EPD in 1995 and he worked as a school resource officer from 2003 until 2012.
In July 2012, a female officer reported that Zeltvay had been bothering her since she was a new recruit, over a decade earlier. During the ensuing investigation several other female EPD employees reported similar problems with Zeltvay.
Rather than report his behavior, the women initially complained amongst themselves about his “creepy behavior” and devised their own safety plan for when they were around him.
Some kept quiet because of their loyalty to Zeltvay’s wife, who also worked for the department. Others, because of an unwritten rule amongst female officers that they needed to have “thick skin” and not complain, according to lead investigator Sergeant Scott McKee. “It was a uniquely complicated, awkward and complex investigation,” McKee said.
In October 2012, EPD officials modified Zeltvay’s duties and then in December 2012, they placed him on administrative leave. Zeltvay finally resigned in early 2013.
The investigation identified at least six victims, including another officer, three women in the records department, a fellow officer’s wife, and a neighbor. However, Police Chief Peter Kerns fears that there may be other victims, including minors, and he urges them to come forward.
Zeltvay “has no filter it seems with respect to what’s appropriate,” said McKee. “His behaviors are despicable.” Ranging from inappropriate comments to sexual touching, Zeltvay’s misconduct occurred both on- and off-duty, for a number of years.
“Power and authority has a way of changing people,” said McKee. “I don’t know where, along the way, Stefan Zeltvay became broken. But that happened and it’s been going on for a long time.”
That may have happened early in Zeltvay’s career, when he worked closely with rogue EPD officer Roger Magana who was ultimately fired and sentenced to 94 years in prison for using his position to sexually assault prostitutes, drug addicts, mentally ill and other vulnerable women.
As part of a plea agreement, Zeltvay pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sexual harassment and sexual abuse charges on July 24, 2013. He was then sentenced to 140 days in jail and required to register as a sex offender.
During sentencing Zeltvay apologized to his former colleagues, admitting that he had done “inappropriate things” that brought “shame to the department and the community.”
Source: Associated Press