Former Long Beach Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Two Counts of Statutory Rape
District Attorney Joel Smith announced today that Patrick Anthony Klis, age 45, of Long Beach, pled guilty this afternoon to two counts of Statutory Rape in the Harrison County Courthouse. After accepting his plea, Circuit Court Judge Chris Schmidt ordered a pre-sentence investigation and set a sentencing hearing for January 28, 2016.
The case came to the attention of authorities in April of 2014 when parents of a friend of the victim informed the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department of an inappropriate relationship between the former officer and the underage victim. After a thorough investigation, authorities determined that the relationship began in October of 2013 when the victim was 14 years of age and became sexual after she turned 15 years old. During this timeframe, there were many times the defendant would have the victim sneak out of her house and meet him while he was on duty. The defendant would take the victim to various locations in Long Beach where they would engage in sexual conduct. Subsequent search warrants uncovered fake Facebook accounts that were set up to allow Klis to communicate with the victim. “A forensic examination of the Facebook accounts revealed over 9,000 pages of Facebook correspondence that included pictures, some of which were of a sexual nature. In addition, authorities were able to retrieve actual instant messages between Klis and the victim where he actively engaged in sexually explicit communications with her,” said Assistant District Attorney Crosby Parker, who prosecuted the case along with Alison Baker.
District Attorney, Joel Smith stated “It is imperative that we hold criminals accountable for betraying the innocence and trust of children under their watch.”
For each count of Statutory Rape, Klis faces a maximum of 30 years in prison. Given the nature of the crimes, the sentences will have to be served day for day without the eligibility of probation or parole and once released Klis must register as a sex offender.
The case came to the attention of authorities in April of 2014 when parents of a friend of the victim informed the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department of an inappropriate relationship between the former officer and the underage victim. After a thorough investigation, authorities determined that the relationship began in October of 2013 when the victim was 14 years of age and became sexual after she turned 15 years old. During this timeframe, there were many times the defendant would have the victim sneak out of her house and meet him while he was on duty. The defendant would take the victim to various locations in Long Beach where they would engage in sexual conduct. Subsequent search warrants uncovered fake Facebook accounts that were set up to allow Klis to communicate with the victim. “A forensic examination of the Facebook accounts revealed over 9,000 pages of Facebook correspondence that included pictures, some of which were of a sexual nature. In addition, authorities were able to retrieve actual instant messages between Klis and the victim where he actively engaged in sexually explicit communications with her,” said Assistant District Attorney Crosby Parker, who prosecuted the case along with Alison Baker.
District Attorney, Joel Smith stated “It is imperative that we hold criminals accountable for betraying the innocence and trust of children under their watch.”
For each count of Statutory Rape, Klis faces a maximum of 30 years in prison. Given the nature of the crimes, the sentences will have to be served day for day without the eligibility of probation or parole and once released Klis must register as a sex offender.
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