13 Jan 2016
The Texas Department of Public Safety announced that a trooper has been fired for allegedly propositioning a driver who he stopped for speeding. The trooper, Christopher Champion, who had been with DPS for about seven years, has also been arrested on charges of soliciting prostitution and “official oppression.”
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Champion made a traffic stop on Route 35. After he pulled the woman over, he asked her to step out of her car, and told her she was being stopped for speeding. After a short conversation, Champion asked the woman to go to a nearby restaurant, where, the affidavit states, he offered her $100 for sex. When she refused, Champion upped the amount to $300. At some point during the conversation, police say Champion used the woman’s phone to text her contact information to his own phone. The following day, the woman reported the incident.
The prostitution charge itself appears straightforward. Under section 43.02 of the Texas Penal Code, soliciting another person to engage in sex for a fee is generally a misdemeanor. It is no defense that the fee was not paid.
The more interesting of the offenses, from a legal point of view, is the charge of official oppression. The language, although not unique, is relatively rare. Most states use language along the lines of “official misconduct.” But the essence of these laws is the same. They make it illegal for a public servant, purportedly acting in his official capacity, to arrest, detain, sexually harass, or otherwise mistreat another person. In the case of the trooper, the allegation is that he fits the definition set forth in section 39.03 of the Penal Code by making unwelcome sexual advances to the woman in the course of acting in his official capacity as a law enforcement official.
Official misconduct, like soliciting prostitution, is a misdemeanor, except in certain specific situations. So it is unlikely that the criminal penalties on these charges, assuming they can be proven, will be severe. But with respect to the trooper’s reputation, his employment, and his future, the damage has already been done.
Law Office of David D. White, PLLC
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Austin, TX 78701
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